The Emperor's New Clothes (2002)

Alternative history and whimsical imagination make comfortable bedfellows in The Emperor's New Clothes. As happens in Simon Leys's novel The Death of Napoleon, the French emperor's demise is faked as part of a political comeback scheme, and Ian Holm--who had previously played Bonaparte in Time Bandits and a 1974 British miniseries--plays both Napoleon and the look-alike who "dies" on the island of St. Helena. En route to Paris to stage his miraculous "resurrection," Napoleon inadvertently finds happiness in Antwerp with an incredulous widow (High Fidelity's Iben Hjejle) while the look-alike--now comfortable with his pampered captivity--refuses to reveal his true identity! As directed by Alan Taylor, this delightful comedy is played at a perfect low-key pitch, favoring the subtleties of Holm's performance, which is every bit as clever as his Bilbo Baggins in The Lord of the Rings.