The Emperor's Club

I say that this is a tough sell of a movie because it seems like most movies marketing of late have to have some catch,hook or twist about it to sell to audiences,something either sexy,violent or both. Movies that stress intellectual or moral higher pursuits are somewhat rare to come by and when they are,they either are heavy-handed(Dead Poets Society)or arcane,word-of-mouth projects(Kidco,Stand and Deliver).If they don't feature some level of arousing interest(two examples:Sirens or Kinsey,both films I greatly appreciated BTW),then they are probably going to fall under the wheels of Hollywood's promotional behemoth if they are produced for the large screen.

Such,I suspect,is the case with The Emperors Club, a Neil Tolin screenplay based on a Ethan Canin short story. The central figure is one William Hundert(Kevin KLine,perhaps never more dignified in role),a well-respected and generally popular teacher at a Catholic,boys-only academy,who teaches the classics(i.e.Roman and Greek history and culture). His long stay as an educator is put to the test(probably not the only time,but what has to be the most memorable) in the 1976-77 school year when an arrogant,selfish son of a congressman(Emile Hirsch,avec David Cassidy fro)enrolls in the school,for whom Hundert decides he's going to make a special effort to "mold" into a true student of enlightenment. His efforts then have effects on both his students and himself that stay with him long after.

Well-acted,well-scripted,thoughtful and gently guided by Michael Hoffman(who directed Kline in the pleasant Midsummer Night's Dream adaptation three years earlier),this film quietly came and went in the Autumn of 2002 and it seems like a shame,but not un-understandably so. This is a show with virtually no violence and very little(if any)sexual content and the majority of the cast are either rising young stars who haven't quite reached high acclaim yet or are older character actors,so one will enter this on virtually a blind-faith interest of the film's topic or(more likely)an appreciation for Mr.Kline. To be honest and tell on myself,when this film was out I passed it up and didn't really sit down to appreciate it until very recently,and that was a a free library rental! As is,free or not,this is clearly a unique and recommendable movie.

I thoroughly enjoyed this movie. I don't care if others think it was predictable - so what? Wasn't Jaws predictable? How about Alien? Once in a while a movie has a lesson in it - like this one. Even if it is a lesson that gets played over and over.

I really didn't care for the mildly romantic banter between Kline's character and his female interest. Maybe the purpose of the character was to show Dr. Hundert was not gay - but that seems awfully shallow to me. If this movie was not about a gay teacher, why did the writer feel obligate to prove the reverse? All in all though, this was a GOOD movie - very good.

The movie deals with a good and idealist teacher (Kevin Kline) of Roman classic history and his relationship to a roguish and rebel pupil (Emile Hirsch) in a high class school . The teacher tries to redeem him but the continuous challenge makes that the incorrigible student (besides , being senator's son : Harris Yulin) results to be more and less difficult or impossible to dominate him . Meanwhile , the starring falls in love with an attractive , though married teacher (Embeth Davidtz) , and has problems with the college director (Edward Herrmann).

The picture is based on Ethan Canin's book titled ¨ Palace thief ¨. The story is narrated with sensitivity and intelligence and here are treated ethic and moral issues developed in great sense of ductility and fairness . As the teacher will have to face on the complex truth that can be manipulated or phony . The motion picture takes part of the School Sub-genre , whose maxim representation turns out to be the prestigious ¨Dead poet society¨ by Peter Weir . The film is displayed throughout among past and present time where we find the same characters though twenty five years later , except Kevin Kline the actors are different . The actors' interpretation is excellent , such as Kevin Kline as a mature and upright teacher who hands perfectly the role , Emile Hirsch as the rascal young is top-notch as well as Embeth Davidtz who is wonderful and enjoyable . James Newton Howard's musical score is sensitive and touching . The story was well directed by Michael Hoffman . Rating : Above average , well worth watching.

There is no doubt that Kevin Kline is both a funny man and a fine comedic actor. However, as he has proved yet again, anything other than dramatic roles is a waste of his acting talent.

In the finest film he has made, he is superb in his role as school teacher and mentor to a generation of boys -- including one particular bad egg.

Excellently cast, scripted and acted, this is a must see.

I can't help feel bit jealous when ever I see Private Schools in movies. My high school was unfortunately full of teachers who didn't give half a goddamn about you. And it was/is one of the most respected (read pretentious) in the country. I never learned one single thing that was actually of use to me and I believe going to such a place is mostly responsible for turning me into the faithless cynic that I am now.

In this movie Kevin Kline (a seriously underused actor) plays a history teacher who is dedicated to making sure his students grow up to be fine and morally sound, upstanding people. They all get along until Sedgewick Bell (Emile Hirsh)the hell-raising son of an arrogant Governor arrives in class. His grades are terrible but Mr. Hundert sees intelligence in the boy and struggles to push him in the right direction at the expense of the rest of the class who actually want and care for education. Over the years he comes to regret his mistakes but sees a chance to put things right again with a reunion of all his former students organised by Sedgewick who appears to want to put things right.

There are loads of Student/Teacher movies out there but what separates The Emperor's Club from the likes of Dead Poet's Society and Mr. Holland's Opus is that Mr. Hundert's teaching is never in doubt. But he is flawed. Kevin Kline is so good in the role that for most of the film I thought I was watching a real person and not a character. And doesn't he sound like Niles from Frasier?

I do wish I went to somewhere like St. Benedicts or at least had a teacher like Mr. Hundert. It seems that teachers who really care only exist in the movies As are students who are willing to learn. Or perhaps it's just my bad non-education that skews my opinion. Still, I know good movies when I see one and The Emperor's Club get's my recommendation if you're sick of Hollywood, massive budgets, overblown SFX and intrusive marketing and just want a good character drama.