The Emperor's Club (Widescreen)

But in the end, it takes on a different contour than what I would have imagined through its course, so that was a welcome denouement.

The finishing twist is delivered with a flourish, and although I felt that the writer didn't quite have the guts to follow his story to its natural, cynical conclusion, the end was surely a bit unpredictable.

The story line, admittedly, is on a diet. But the script is taut. What really shimmers though is the acting. Kevin Kline is, as always, in top form, he neither underplays nor overplays his professor role getting everything just right, from his quiet, guilt-ridden introspection to the light comedy that results from a frivolous baseball game. And as the counterpart protagonist Emile Hirsch displays the arrogant bravado one expects from a bad seed student rather well.

All in all, I probably wouldn't see this movie more than once, but it's a worthwhile rental. Especially to watch with kids for some decent messages about morals, discipline, friendship, respect.

The film starts with Mr. Hundert (Kline), a retired teacher after a career of thirty-four years, showing up at a reunion with his class of 1976. This was a group of students that marked him deeply, and he goes on to remember the events that lead to that situation.

Mr. Hundert is history teacher, covering Western Civilizations, the Greeks and the Romans; he is very passionate about his job and the students adore him. Every year a history competition is held, with the winner being crowned as Julius Caesar. Everything is working out perfectly, until Sedgewick Bell, a new student, joins the St. Benedict School for boys. Sedgewick is the son of a senator for West Virginia and he transforms the anger he carries due to his father's lack of interest in his life, in irreverence, contempt and arrogance. Mr. Hundert has to find a way to control this new student and motivate him into having goals and aspirations, before he jeopardizes the teacher's control over the rest of the class. One of the tools to achieve this is the Julius Caesar competition.

This highly enjoyable movie gets people thinking on the importance of the building blocks in each person's life and on how teachers are, as much as parents, part of shaping this base. Kevin Kline presents a highly skilled performance, showing his usual aptitude for portraying different characters and adapting equally well to dramatic and humorous situations. I learn to appreciate history in the late years of my high school journey. I am convinced that it would have been different if I had encountered a teacher like Mr. Hundert.