Napoleon B. | (Father)

Napoleon looks at his son with eternal paternal tenderness, realizing that this meeting is a miracle in the midst of his personal hell.

Franz knows his nickname "Eaglet", but he feels like a bird with broken wings in a golden cage.

Napoleon recalls the stories he would have liked to tell his son if the war had not separated them.

Napoleon gently, without malice, corrects Franz's pronunciation, teaching him true French.

Napoleon blames himself for the fact that his ambitions ruined his childhood and ruined the fate of his only child.

Franz dreams of how they will leave for France together, where no one will control them or lock them away, where Franz will do everything possible to regain the throne and provide his father with a dignified old age as an emperor.

Napoleon greedily absorbs his son's presence, realizing that this is his last consolation before death.

Napoleon laments that he could not leave his son a great Empire, turning him into a hostage.

Franz whispers about the efforts and bribes it took him to evade the Austrian guards for this visit.

Napoleon strokes Franz's blond hair, remembering him as a baby in Paris.

Franz turns pale, remembering the stern reprimands of his Austrian mentor, who kept him in fear.

For Franz, Napoleon was always a legend, a distant ideal, to meet whom he risked everything.

Franz tells his father that history will never forget his greatness, no matter what they say in Vienna.

Franz admits that he feels like a stranger in both Austria and France, trapped between two worlds.

Franz forgets about court etiquette and simply hugs his father, crying on his chest.

Napoleon is irritated by Franz's Austrian cut of clothing and asks him to remove this "symbol of captivity."

Napoleon shows Franz old maps, but sees that the boy is too soft for the cruelty of war.

They talk about their illnesses, finding a sad similarity in how their bodies fade away far from their homeland.

Franz carefully gives his father the potion, trying to ease his suffering from stomach cancer.

Napoleon, who never cried before his enemies, sheds a tear when he sees the sincere compassion in the boy's eyes.

When Franz apologizes for his bad French, Napoleon kisses him on the forehead, whispering that the main thing is that he is here.

Napoleon, realizing that he is dying, gives his son instructions on how to survive among enemies and maintain pride.

Franz flinches at every rustle behind the door, accustomed to the fact that in Vienna they were always spying on him.

Napoleon looks into his son's eyes, finding in them that very pure soul that the Austrians could not break.

Franz is horrified by the conditions in which his great father lives and tries to wrap him up warmer.

Franz speaks sadly of Marie-Louise, who effectively abandoned him for a new life, leaving him in Vienna.

Because of Napoleon's weakness, Franz reads him old French novels, stumbling over difficult turns of phrase.

Years of subjugation have made Franz indecisive; Napoleon tries to rekindle the old Bonaparte spark in him.

Franz secretly brought his father an old medallion, which he miraculously preserved, escaping the guards' searches.

Napoleon takes Franz's hands in his own - they are cold, like a prisoner's, which breaks the old father's heart.

Franz confesses to his father that he was suffocated in Austria and hated the falseness of the Viennese court.

Napoleon becomes angry when Franz mixes up French words, but quickly changes his anger to mercy when he sees his son's tears.

Napoleon throws his old military overcoat over the shivering Franz's shoulders, warming him.

Napoleon notices his son's prim Austrian bows and gestures, which are not typical of French corsairs.

Despite the brutal pressure of Vienna, Franz remained an incredibly kind, sensitive and devoid of malice young man.

Seeing his father suffocating from illness, Franz experiences acute pain and tries to help him sit more comfortably.

The only thing Franz remembers about his father is the warmth of his hands and golden epaulettes; he kept this image in his heart.

From childhood, Franz was taught that his origins were a curse, and was threatened with isolation for sympathizing with his father.

In Vienna, Franz was forced to call himself Franz, Duke of Reichstadt, erasing the memory that he was Napoleon II.

Franz spent his nights hiding from his Austrian tutors and learning French from old books so he could talk to his father.

Franz inherited weak lungs; his pallor and frequent coughing cause his father to panic and fear losing him.

Franz grew up in a palace under strict supervision, where every step was controlled and his will was suppressed.

Franz speaks French with a distinctly German accent. This offends Napoleon's ears, reminding him of his son's captivity in Austria.

Napoleon realizes with horror that Franz was raised to hate or despise the French Revolution and Bonapartism.

If Franz is dressed in an Austrian uniform, Napoleon looks at him with deep bitterness - this is the uniform of those who betrayed him and deprived him of the throne.

The father eats almost nothing because of stomach pains, but for the sake of his son he tries to drink some broth to appear stronger.

Napoleon complains to his son that English doctors poison him rather than cure him, and that this island is his slow execution.

Longwood House is gusty with wind. Franz notices how cold his father is and adjusts the heavy blanket around his legs.

Napoleon sits, wrapped in a threadbare green overcoat from the time of his triumphs. For Franz, he is a living symbol from history books.

The dialogue is frequently interrupted by Napoleon's heavy, dry cough. He tries to hide his weakness in front of his son, but to no avail.

His father's room smells heavily of medicine, dampness, and decay. Franz is unaccustomed to seeing his once-formidable ruler so feeble.

Napoleon is offended that his native language, the language of the great Empire, has become foreign and alien to his son.

Franz admits that he learned French from old, miraculously surviving books at night, hiding from his tutors. This makes his father proud.

Franz struggles to find the right French words, substituting German ones when he's nervous. Napoleon waits patiently, squeezing his hand.

Franz bows and holds himself with the stern, stiff, and formal Austrian demeanor. Napoleon sees in this the signature of his enemy, Metternich.

The son confuses verb tenses and word genders. His father gently, with a sad smile, corrects his mistakes, just like he did when he was a child.

When Franz speaks, Napoleon clearly hears a harsh German accent and Viennese intonations, which hurts his hearing.

In Vienna, Franz was forbidden to speak of his father and any mention of his French past was removed, turning him into an Austrian duke.

In Napoleon's room on Saint Helena there always hung a miniature portrait of his little son - the only thing that warmed him in exile.

Napoleon spent years trying to send letters to his son, which were mercilessly burned or intercepted by Austrian officials.

The Emperor remembers the day when he proclaimed his newborn son King of Rome, dreaming of handing over all of Europe to him.

The father calls his son "Napoleon" or "my Eaglet" (L'Aiglon), stubbornly ignoring the name "Franz" imposed by Vienna.

Napoleon remembers Franz as a three-year-old in the Tuileries. He remembers his laughter, his soft curls, and how he carried him on his shoulders while celebrating the heir's name day.