The Emperor's Club

I can see exactly why comparisons to Dead Poets' Society abound. Having attended boarding school and developed an irrational attachment to that film at the time, I have since discarded it like an overworn leisure suit, and tried to move on to more interesting fare. But honestly, this film made me think -- in all the ways that school should have, and the DPSociety didn't even try to.

Robin Williams has never starred in a thinking man's film, which is why, in the end, the comparison between the two movies doesn't hold up. To get The Emperor's Club, you have to actually grasp why someone might be inspired by history -- by a time when men could truly fail, or conquer, or establish a foothold in eternity. The fact that we know Socrates existed is astounding. It is luck. If James Carville goes down in history it will be an accident, if a likely one. The point of this film is that difference -- the difference between men whose character demands to be remembered, and men whose character demands to be forgotten. It is also the story of two systems of reward and recognition -- one that produced Plato and one that produced Jerry Springer. That is why we study history, as the movie says. To learn from and be inspired by the great leaders who came before us, and to overcome the moral mediocrity of the modern world.

But, as the film concludes, great men are no longer chosen to lead. The Emperor's Club, while cloaked in the guise of a charming elitist flick, is actually a tale of profound disappointment and disillusionment regarding human society. The few great men who are left exist in the shadows, while the ignorant grandstanders wield political power. We elect them; we are in their hands. And it is all because of a lack of awareness, a lack of knowledge, and a lack of history. People don't vote for principle -- they vote for rhetoric. And it shows.

I was not expecting too much from this movie, other than the always pleasurable experience of watching Kevin Kline. But, wrapped up in the sentimental moralizing, there was the story of a great man doing the only great thing left: trying to bring others out the darkness. His success or failure is as immaterial as the execution of Socrates -- it really is the thought that counts.

This film is about a history teacher engraving his wisdom and virtues in his students' hearts.

According to my vote history, I watched it in around April 2003 time, and I gave it a 6. I borrowed this DVD again a few days ago from the library, not remembering I have watched it. I thought it could not have been a good film if I could not remember watching it. It was so wrong! I really like the plot of this film. It is so touching and affecting. I felt so drawn to the characters of the film. Mr Hundert's dedication and enormous enthusiasm is infectiously touching. Even Mr Hundert has such high virtues, he still made a mistake. To think that Mr Hundert must have chided himself for 25 years about not letting Martin be in the competition is almost unbearable. This contrasts Sedgewick Bell, a non conformer. He breaks all the rules and never regrets it, maybe except at the end. The two characters create such an interesting parallel, and gives much room for thought. This film touched me a lot. It is captivating and thought provoking. It truly deserves more attention than it gets.

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.

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 Emperor's Club" is a lot different than you would think. It does run a bit on cheesy sentimentality, but the ending is more than surprising considering the type of film this is.

It is a period-piece about a teacher (Kevin Kline) at a prestigious school for boys, and how he tries to "mould" a strong-willed fifteen-year-old boy. And if you want a hint at the surprise ending, don't read any farther, because I cannot control telling you that in the end he does not change the boy. Which is what truly amazed me. Most of the time in films like these, we see the free-spirited kid become proper and respectful. But not so here. This tale doesn't have a perfect teacher turning a bad boy into a perfect boy. It has a flawed teacher wasting years on one student. Years later at a party, he tells the boy, Sedgewick (now an adult), "as a teacher I have failed you." And that's what is so very different about this movie. It isn't as heavy on the drama as I thought it would be, and comes across a bit cheesy and fluffy at times, but the ending is more surprising than "The Sixth Sense" ever will be. It doesn't rely on tried-and-used methods, but goes for a new route. And just when you think that it's as depressing as it can get, the very, very end gives your spirit a bit of a boost.

Kline realizes that in those years that Sedgewick attended his class, he ignored the other students who were trying - and actually cared - about what they were doing. It kind of sheds a new light on the films where a teacher devotes time to one student in particular, because after seeing this film, I bet ten bucks next time you watch a film of the same roots you'll realize that the teacher is ignoring the other students. And "The Emperor's Club" exposes this. Kline's character is flawed, and while he is a good teacher, he makes mistakes, such as spending so much time on Sedgewick and bumping a smarter kid off of the school toga challenge, just so he can put Sedgewick in it (the challenge).

Kevin Kline isn't Otto here. "A$$hole!" is not a motto here. We've got Kline giving a thoroughly convincing performance as a 1970s all-boys school teacher. Kline's makeup at the end of the film is quite good as well, as opposed to something like "The Dish" where Sam Neil's makeup looks like it's about to fall off his face and his wig is about to be plucked off by a gust of wind.

I also liked the student actors in this film. The actors they got to play the various students were pretty good; in fact, many of them were very good. I hope their careers continue after this film, and as hateable as Sedgewick was in this film, the kid who played him was pretty convincing. You always know this when you start to like or dislike a character, much less hate or love them.

At the end of the film, I like the subtle differences in years. In the 1970s, a group of boys travel across a lake to check out the all-girls school, where nuns shoo them away. 28 years later, as Kline's character walks towards his schoolroom, we see boys and girls walking around. In 28 years society has changed, and it's funny to wonder if that group of boys from the 1970s ever thought that in 28 years, what they were paddling across a lake for would be right next to them.