The Emperor's Wife (2003)

Best movie of this year hands down!

As Good As It Gets

The movie turns out to be a little better than the average. Starting from a romantic formula often seen in the cinema, it ends in the most predictable (and somewhat bland) way.

Through painfully honest and emotional moments, the movie becomes irresistibly relatable

the atmosphere is the key for a fairy tale who preserves traditional recipes but use new ingredients. slow, strange, seductive, remembering art cinema but proposing different perspective, it is more a challenge for viewer than entertainment. and that is the purpose. because, full of cultural references, it has its precise target. cocktail of Sci Fi themes, using myths and images from old stories, it seems be a game. or a parable. or, maybe, only obscure, beautiful film. in fact, it is only a kind of flavor of images. a bridge between worlds. careful made, exploring force of symbols, cold and mysterious, it is one of films who are not easy to define but too easy to reject.

From the very beginning to the end I expected something interesting to happen in this film. But I must tell you that NOTHING good took place. From the screenplay to the actors performance, "The Emperor's Wife" makes us feel like giving up watching the DVD and going for a good sleep.It's actually the story of a emperor who decides to find a new wife once he realises his wife cannot give him a baby. Could it be a good story? Yes, it could, but, unfortunately, it isn't. The film is extremely slow and the situation are not natural. Sometimes we just can't believe our eyes. The scenes are pathetic and the face expressions are not true.

First time I saw this movie, I was a little annoyed with the atmosphere. It seemed too lost in its own mythology to be anything close to approachable. Second time I saw it, I now fully understand the whole symbiosis of the art style with the plot. (mind you, some people wont get it at all). The plot was traditional in the fairy tale sense; but with a more mature theme. The acting was effective enough to keep the audience in interest, without being too sappy or thematic. Special recognition for Rhys-Meyers, who plays his affection for Sabah, with a false dignity, even though through his eyes you can see the man suffer. Very well acted on his part.I'd give it an 8.5 out of 10.This movie is good, if you can read more into the whole movie, instead of just the plot or artistry.

I was lucky to get a copy of this film, and after reading some reviews, I had great expectations about it. Without a doubt this film would've been on of the greatest art movie, but it fails to deliver. My first impression was that Julie Taymor's TITUS, had a big impact on this movie, and I would've loved to see the same kind of acting and direction. Unfortunately the movie dilutes from the initial high level, to something that's nothing more but a cheap art film. I would've like to see more of the costumes and the décor and less of the bad acting of some of the actors… Interesting camera movements, reminiscent of Greenaway's films, a quite pleasant music score, original screenplay, but in the end you are left with the desire of MORE. For movie lovers I think is worth take look at it, and in this commercial world it's a nice exception from the mainstream films.7/10