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A fight for honor and morality |
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"The Emperor's Club" Reviewed by Carlos deVillalvilla (Click on the images to see larger versions and credits.)
In the end, the measure of a person is in their
actions, not just their ideals. It's a fine thing to
have lofty moral values, but another to
live by them. The difference between doing what's
right and doing what's right for yourself can be a
very hard line indeed.
Professor William Hundert (Kevin Kline) lives an
ordered existence. Assistant headmaster and history
teacher at the exclusive St. Benedict's School for
Boys. Passionate not only about teaching Greek and
Roman civilization, but also about making the right
choices for the greater good, Hundert is beloved
amongst his students and respected among his peers.
Based on the excllent novella ''The Palace Thief'' by
Ethan Canin,''The Emperor's Club'' is all the more
timely for the recent spectacular examples of the lack
of ethical behavior in business, government, Wall
Street and academia. Kline's performance as Hundert is
memorable, although it borrows a bit from the ''Mr.
Chips''/''Dead Poets Society'' line of teachers.
Hundert believes very deeply in his principals, but
abandons them for what he thinks is the greater good
of another person. However, when that greater good is
betrayed, Hundert is challenged more than ever to keep
his belief system intact. He does so in a marvelously
human manner, one to which all of us can relate.
Hundert is no saint, but he is a good man, better than
most, in fact, but fallible.
I was blessed by having a father who had a very highly
developed moral sense. He used to tell me that the
harder road was usually the right one. It has been a
principal that has guided me through some sticky
situations; in that sense, I can identify with Hundert
because of my father's example. Everyone should be
lucky enough to have examples such as these in our
lives. Lacking them, one can use this movie as
inspiration to take the moral high ground. If seeing a
movie can cause us to look in the mirror, then
watching that movie is a worthwhile endeavor, and ''The
Emperor's Club"'' is that, and more.
AT HOME OR AT A THEATER?
See cast, credit and other details about "The Emperor's Club" at Internet Movie Data Base. |