Of Emperors and Educators:
Those Who Forget History
Are Doomed to Repeat It

Leaving a screening of The Emperor's Club, I was bothered by a nagging question. What was the point of this movie? It certainly wasn't an inspirational picture. If anything, I felt defeated. It was not an homage to great teachers, because in truth the film centered on the instructor's failure. While The Emperor's Club may be more realistic than many "prep school" films, it is by no means a happy one.

Oscar® winner Kevin Kline portrays William Hundert, a teacher of Western Civilizations (Greeks and Romans) at St. Benedict's (a boy's prep school) in the early '70s. Teaching ancient history and philosophy to high school boys is never easy, but Hundert trundles through his syllabus in a manner that is meticulous and well trod. His class, and his authority, are unchallenged until a new student arrives with a bag full of attitude and something to prove.

Sedgewick Bell (Emile Hirsch) is the son of a state senator and an instant thorn in Hundert's side. Constant disruptions in class are soon paralleled by unbecoming behavior outside of studies. Bell brings to the school a taste of the real world, where students are rebelling against the button-downed authority that make prep school movies seem frozen in 1952.

After a brief encounter with Sedgewick's father (Harris Yulin), Hundert decides to encourage the boy to be a better student. The results are nearly predictable, but the film takes a strangely unexpected turn when Hundert comprimises his principles to help the boy succeed. From this point, it becomes a film about the instructor, not the student, and his choices and failures.

Supporting Kline is a small, but effective cast including Rob Morrow, Edward Herrmann, and Embeth Davidtz. Davidtz's role is perhaps the most perplexing in the film. Playing Elizabeth (another instructor at St. Benedict's), she appears briefly only once early in the story as a clear romantic interest. She disappears and is nearly forgotten until much later when she pops up to tell Hundert that she is leaving for England with her husband. Again forgotten, she returns years later only to renew her relationship with him. In short, this is one of the most perplexing (and useless) characters in the film.

Many people I know, upon seeing trailers for The Emperor's Club, likened it to Robin Williams' Dead Poets Society. I think the comparison is understandable, but unjust. For one thing, even though there is a suicide in Dead Poets, it is by far a more uplifting film. The earlier film clearly shows how one teacher can be a positive influence.

The lesson of The Emperor's Club may be that actions define character, and character shapes destiny. If such is the message, however, it is muddled by the second half of the film which takes place 25 years later as the old class is reunited by Bell. Unchanged from his former ways, Bell's life is the antithesis of everything Hundert taught. Whereas Hundert taught character and discipline, Bell argues that the world no longer cares about those traits. His success seems to support his arguement.

Hundert's failure as a teacher, not only to Bell, but also to another student, makes the "tribute" to the teacher an uncomfortable one. It seems less like an honor, and more like the anticipated presentation of a gold watch at some old geezer's retirement party.

In a nutshell, this film did one thing admirably. It showed that not every student/teacher relationship can have a happy ending. If you are looking for an upbeat film about teaching, however, I recommend you try Mr. Holland's Opus instead.

MY RATING: 4 out of 10.

RATED: PG-13
RUN TIME: 109 min.