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Monsieur N.

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Monsieur N.
Monsieur N.film poster
Directed byAntoine de Caunes
Written byRené Manzor
Produced byPierre Kubel
StarringPhilippe Torreton
Richard E. Grant
Elsa Zylberstein
Narrated byFrançois Marthouret
Distributed byEmpire Pictures
Release date
  • 12 February 2003(2003-02-12)
Running time
120 min.
CountriesFrance
United Kingdom
LanguagesFrench
English
Corsican
Budget$17 million[1]
Box office$860.094[2]

Monsieur N.is a 2003 British-French film directed byAntoine de Caunes.It tells the story of the last years of the life of theEmperorNapoléon(played byPhilippe Torreton), who was imprisoned by theBritishonSt Helena.Napoléon retained a loyal entourage of officers who helped him plot his escape, and evaded the attentions ofMajor-GeneralSir Hudson Lowe(Richard E. Grant), the island's overzealousGovernor.

The film suggests that Napoléon could have escaped toLouisiana,where he died, and that the body exhumed and now atLes Invalidesis that of Napoléon's officer Cipriani. The film also suggests that Napoléon and his young new English wife,Betsy Balcombe,could have attended the ceremony of "Napoléon's" burial in the Invalides.

Plot

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Napoleon,Emperor of the Frenchis imprisoned on the island ofSaint Helenain theSouth Atlantic Ocean.Here he, ostensibly, dreams of how to escape from his captivity in his last "battle".

In essence, the story is as convoluted as any of the escape myths that have surfaced at various times. There is plenty of intrigue around the former Emperor, with the poisoning of a trusted aide, the possible double-cross of a trusted officer, the frivolous relationship with a gold-digger lady of the entourage and the uncomfortable role of the British military authorities and especially, the new governor of the island prison.

All this is witnessed and narrated through a British officer tasked with shadowing Napoleon until the final twist of the plot is revealed.

Reception

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The film was well-received. As of July 2020,71% of the 21 reviews compiled byRotten Tomatoesare positive, with an average rating of 6.27/10. The website's critics' consensus reads: "Fueled by performances as polished as its visuals,Monsieur N.is a flawed yet largely absorbing look at an imagined chapter of Napoleon's exile. "[3]

The film received a positive but guarded review inThe New York Times,which praised Philippe Torreton's performance but thought the narrative too complex for an audience not initiated in Napoléon's history.[4]

Cast

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References

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  1. ^"Monsieur N. (2003) - JP Box-Office".
  2. ^"Monsieur N".
  3. ^"Monsieur N. (2004)".Rotten Tomatoes.Retrieved29 July2020.
  4. ^Holden, Stephen (21 January 2005)."Embroidering the Fate of the First Man Who Thought He Was Napoleon".The New York Times.
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