In my top 20 films. Highly recommend. Soundtrack good too. Great watch!

Very well done! Great film! Well acted. Well written. Good directing. Good camera work. Beautiful visually from both the directing/camera work, and the picturesque scenery. Great acting performances all around.I like how the film isn't just in French, or just in English. The English characters speak English to each other, and speak French to the French. The French characters speak French. This gives the film a realistic feel. Great storytelling. The viewer falls prey to Napoleon's charismatic charm as much as those who knew him in person, and we come to feel for him, as if he is a victim of his imprisonment, rather than a deposed tyrannical dictator paying for his vast crimes. His humbled situation brings out his humanity and weakness, yet he still retains his dominance, but through subtler control than his former meglomanical ways. It is almost as if he has lured the audience into routing for him and pitying him, while he secretly pulls our strings. It is also refreshing to see the human side of a once powerful ruler, and brutal military commander, through witnessing his relationships and interactions with others. We tend to only see powerful world leaders in their public personas, without getting to voyeuristically peer into their private lives, and therefore, they seem larger than life, rather than a human being going through the things we all go through in life. Life plays no favorites, nor spares anyone based on title or fame. I am a history buff, and I enjoy most well made historical films, but I think anyone would enjoy this. It has intrigue, romance, action, dialog, storytelling, conjecture, moving moments, something for everyone. It is not "boring history", but the juicy bits that fell through the cracks, that cannot be found in a text book, the story within the story so to speak. The film is based on a combination of know facts, and explored theory. It is an intriguing conspiracy theory, that could well have happened. We may never know the whole truth about Napoleon's fate, but isn't it fun to explore the what ifs, especially the ones that make a glorious story? As with Billy The Kid, Jessie James, Elvis, & Jim Morrison, among others, Napoleon's legend is romanticized, and made even grander by the thought that he may have cheated death and fame, and "rode off into the sunset"... Watch the film, you'll enjoy it.

What a surprise.....who thought that Antoine de Caunes of eurotrash fame would deliver such a fantastic film. The actors are without exception fantastic notably Phillippe Torreton as a thoroughly convincing Napoleon and Siobhan Hewlett a young actress who just lights up the screen...she plays the english love of Napoleon from 15, 20 and 40 flipping from french to english dialogue and i hear this is only her second job..she is definitely one to watch. Aside from the acting the film is visually stunning and so true to the period..i researched a lot about napoleon when i did my history degree and it really captures the essence of st helena where napoleon was exiled . go and see it

Of the thousands of movies I've seen so far, this is the first one which made me think of the "wasted talents" expression. I had never EVER seen so many fine actors giving so dreadful performances (Frédéric Pierrot, Elsa Zylberstein,and so on). The "aging" make-up is quite awful and, to make it worse, lit broadly. The use of music (e.g. love at first sight for the young aide de camp) is at times so caricatural that I could feel most spectators around me smile awkwardly. So far, Antoine de Caunes has been quite a good actor, but seeing this one and "les morsures de l'aube" I think he should start considering quitting. Please Antoine, give up that "master of balantree" project ; I doubt you deserve it.