Monsieur N.
| Monsieur N. | |
|---|---|
 Monsieur N. film poster | |
| Directed by | Antoine de Caunes |
| Produced by | Pierre Kubel |
| Written by | René Manzor |
| Starring |
Philippe Torreton Richard E. Grant Elsa Zylberstein Jay Rodan Frédéric Pierrot |
| Distributed by | Empire Pictures |
Release dates | 12 February 2003 (France) |
Running time | 120 min. |
| Country |
France United Kingdom |
| Language |
French English Corsican |
| Budget | €15,920,000 |
Monsieur N. is a 2003 British-French film directed by Antoine de Caunes. It tells the story of the last years of the life of Napoleon Bonaparte (played by Philippe Torreton) who was imprisoned by the British on St Helena. Napoleon retained a loyal entourage of officers who helped him plot his escape, and evaded the attentions of Sir Hudson Lowe (Richard E. Grant), the island's overzealous Governor.
The film suggests that Napoleon could have escaped to Louisiana, where he died, and that the body exhumed and now at Les Invalides is that of Napoleon's officer Cipriani. The film also suggests that Napoleon and his young new English wife could have attended the ceremony of "Napoleon's" burial in the Invalides.
Reception
The film was well received and has a 70% "fresh" rating on film critic aggregate site Rotten Tomatoes.[1]
The film received a positive but guarded review in The New York Times, which praised Philippe Torreton's performance but thought the narrative too complex for an audience not initiated in Napoleon's history.[2]
External links
- (French) Official site
- Monsieur N. at the Internet Movie Database
References
- ↑ Rotten Tomatoes page for Monsieur N.
- ↑ "Embroidering the Fate of the First Man Who Thought He Was Napoleon," Stephen Holden, New York Times, January 21, 2005