There is nothing left until one of the most anticipated films of the year arrives. We have already seen it, and the only thing we have been able to criticize about it Napoleon by Ridley Scott is that it goes too fast. It lasts no less than two hours and 38 minutes, but it seems a bit short to cover the entire life of a character like Napoleon. Nothing to say, however, about Joaquin Phoenix whose path to the Oscar is more than lined with his incarnation of Bonaparte. The same can be said about Vanessa Kirby who takes advantage of every scene she is in, even stealing the focus from Phoenix in several moments.
However, we return to the topic of concision. Napoleon had such an intense life, so eventful, that if Scott’s film lacks anything, it is the same as many other biopics. Summarizing an entire life is always complicated and, sometimes, it would be better to choose to focus on a single outstanding chapter of it. The film, however, begins with Napoleon already with the rank of Commodore during the French Revolution, so it spares us his childhood. However, speaking of a historical figure like Napoleon Bonaparte, tracing his military rise to his second exile already involves an enormous amount of events. To most of them, no matter how important they are, the film can only dedicate one or two scenes. We wouldn’t be surprised if you finished the film wanting to read a book like this to fill in the gaps.
Almuzara That was not in my Napoleon book (History)
Almuzara That was not in my Napoleon book (History)
Yesterday we reviewed the real story of Napoleon’s battle in the pyramids of Egypt. Although showy, we could say that his most famous battles are his victory at Austerlitz, his march on Moscow or his mythical defeat at Waterloo. The truth is that all of them give the film a touch of spectacular blockbuster. Yes ok Napoleon It shines even more in the scenes between Napoleon and Josephine, it is in the rapid evolution of the battles where Scott demonstrates his mastery and his years of craftsmanship. We warn you that the battle on the ice of Austerlitz will be the highlight of the film for many. However, despite these quick highlights, we cannot help but once again have the feeling that the figure of Napoleon as a soldier cannot be seen in its entirety.
Ridley Scott must be aware of this because, after the end of the film, the typical informational posters with real biographical data appear. The most shocking, without a doubt, is the one that tells us that Napoleon led no less than 61 battles throughout his military career. Although some of them were in the service of France’s higher powers, the biggest ones occurred with him calling the shots. His airs of greatness, his imperial ambitions, his fever of conquest, caused dozens of wars in Europe. When he marched to Russia with 650,000 European soldiers (Italy and Austria lent him soldiers) he returned with only 40,000. For this reason, the film focuses on the number of deaths that Napoleon caused, directly or indirectly, throughout these 61 battles. And the figure, taking into account that the population of Europe at that time was much larger and that they were all young men of military service age, is frightening. Under Napoleon’s rule, according to Ridley Scott’s film, no less than 3 million people died.
A man who led no less than 3 million soldiers to death is, evidently, one of the greatest warriors (in dimensions) in the history of humanity. And we are only talking about soldiers who died under his command, not about rival casualties that would be equally or more numerous. Especially in historical figures, in conquerors and generals, we feel the emotion of his personal life and leave the war part as something epic, tactical and historical. But it should not be that way, and this final note by Scott honors his vision of Napoleon. Napoleon was all that we already know, but also the simple human being who, fulfilling his desire for power, put an end to millions of human lives.
