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During an unfortunate incident in Sarajevo, the King of the Belgians suffers a gunshot wound to the ear. He wakes up on a Croatian island, once Tito’s famed summer residence and now a sanatorium. As the king’s entourage try to protect him from the news that the European Union has fallen apart, an envoy arrives announcing that the first emperor of a nationalist Nova Europa has been chosen. The king takes matters into his own hands. “Could rising nationalism unleash another dark chapter of history? Why is fear so easily awakened? Why is hate sparked so swiftly? Why do people forget the lessons of the past so readily? Remembering the impact of her father's film The Great Dictator eighty years ago, Geraldine Chaplin, who appears in the film, is still convinced that mankind's best weapon is humour. We share her conviction”, say the directors of the Flemish film. A political satire, an unconventional sequel to King of the Belgians by the same filmmakers. (Warsaw Film Festival)
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I hadn’t watched a European film in a while, so I decided to give The Barefoot Emperor a try. The premise and poster caught my attention, but right from the start, it felt oddly familiar. Then it hit me — this is a direct sequel to the Belgian film King of the Belgians. That movie also intrigued me at first, but ultimately fell a bit flat and lacked humor. This one is a slight improvement, but not by much. Thankfully, Udo Kier is in the mix, and he never disappoints. The plot has a touch of avant-garde absurdity, with a bit of narcissism thrown in, reminiscent of something you might see from Dutch director Alex van Warmerdam.
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Photo © Warszawski Festiwal Filmowy
