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Poster for The Emperor's Wife

The Emperor's Wife

2003 · 100 min

A slow, claustrophobic fairy tale that feels like a grown-up fable, beautiful and quietly menacing.

Directed by
Julien Vrebos
Genres
Drama
Starring
Jonathan Rhys Meyers, Max Beesley, Rosana Pastor
Tagline
A fairy tale for grown ups.
Overview
In an undisclosed location and time, in the land of 1001 nights, the law dictates that the Emperor must take a new wife if his current Empress does not bear a son within seven years of marriage. At the celebration Ball of their sixth wedding anniversary, the Emperor (MAX BEESLEY - Torque) and his faithful manservant, Chamberlain (JONATHAN RHYS-MEYERS - Vanity Fair, Bend It Like Beckham, I'll Sleep When I'm Dead) begin the covert operation to find and prepare a virgin candidate to become the new Empress.A suitable young woman, Sabah (LETICIA DOLERA) is secretly transported into an isolated wing in the Imperial Palace. In this prison of fairytale rooms, she is tutored by the Masters and spied upon by the Emperor and Chamberlain. Should the current Empress (ROSANA PASTOR) conceive, everyone in the secret wing will be executed.

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Rent or buy in the UK
  • Amazon Video
More options Data from JustWatch
Directed by
Julien Vrebos
Genres
Drama
Starring
Jonathan Rhys Meyers, Max Beesley, Rosana Pastor
In your watch list

How it feels

Written by AI. It can be wrong.

Tone
  • darkstrength 2 of 3
  • eeriestrength 2 of 3
  • melancholicstrength 2 of 3
  • tensestrength 1 of 3
Pacing
slow-burn, 1 of 4, from slow-burn to relentless
Attention
engaged, 3 of 4, from background-friendly to demanding
Themes
  • power
  • betrayal
  • isolation
  • fate
  • gender
Places
  • single country house
  • fantasy world
Era
timeless
Audience
adult
Form
  • single location
Content intensity
  • Gore none
  • Language mild
  • Violence mild
  • Sex mild
All scales, 0 to 10
Scales, 0 to 10
ScaleValue0 to 10
Action1
Horror3
Humour2
Realism3
Romance3
Tension6
Darkness7
Complexity6
Emotional weight6

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Where to watch in the UK

Rent or buy
  • Amazon Video

Streaming data from JustWatch.All options on TMDB

Details

Genres
drama
Directed by
Julien Vrebos
Written by
Paul Ruven
Starring
Jonathan Rhys Meyers, Max Beesley, Rosana Pastor, Leticia Dolera, Claire Johnston, Alex Macqueen, Johnny de Mol
Music
Max Beesley
Cinematography
Tony Malamatenios
Runtime
100 min
Country
Belgium, Luxembourg, Netherlands
Languages
English

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