After the success of Gladiator (2000), Joaquin Phoenix and Ridley Scott reunite in a new historical drama. Napoleon narrates the French general's dazzling rise to proclaiming himself emperor and the turbulent relationship he had with his wife Josephine. War epic (one of the strong points is the recreation of the battles) and marital drama combined in a biopic not exempt from controversy due to its historical inaccuracies.
In addition to Napoleon, two other biographical films will hit theaters these days: Maestro, about the legendary composer Leonard Bernstein; and Teresa, about Saint Teresa of Jesús and her confrontation with the Inquisition.
The documentary The World in a Painting by Caravaggio, about the painting Martha and Mary Magdalene by the famous Baroque painter, completes the historical-themed premieres.
From emperor to emperor. Joaquin Phoenix became known thanks to his applauded portrayal of the despot Commodus in Ridley Scott's Gladiator (2000). More than two decades later, actor and director work together again recreating the life of another emperor: Napoleon Bonaparte.
The film, which will have two versions (one of two and a half hours for cinemas and another of four and a half hours for platforms), portrays the figure of the Corsican general, focusing on two “battles”: the political and the military, which led to Napoleon to become the emperor of France, and the sentimental, stormy relationship he experienced with his wife Josephine (played by Vanessa Kirby).
The Egyptian campaign, the battle of Austerlitz or the coronation of Bonaparte and Josephine (represented according to the famous painting by Jacques-Louis David) are some of the episodes recreated by Scott, who already dealt with the subject of the Napoleonic wars in his excellent debut , The Duelists (1977).
Even before its release, Napoleon has generated controversy for its historical inaccuracies. It is the eternal debate: unjustifiable misrepresentations or legitimate dramatic license?
Paula Ortiz, director of The Bride (2015), adapts Juan Mayorga's play The Language in Pieces, in turn based on Book of Life, the autobiography of Saint Teresa of Jesús. The film is constructed as a dialectical duel between the saint (Blanca Portillo) and an inquisitor (Asier Etxeandia) who arrives at the convent to investigate the nun's visions after being denounced by the princess of Éboli.
After A Star is Born (2018), Bradley Cooper returns behind the cameras to narrate the life of Leonard Bernstein, the famous composer of West Side Story. Maestro is presented as an intimate biopic. The director focuses on the marriage between the musician and the actress Felicia Montealegre, a relationship marked by repressed homosexuality and his “attacks” of temper and by her resigned attitude.
Third installment of the documentary series “The world in a painting” on the ARTE channel (available on Filmin). After Vermeer and Velázquez, it is the turn of another Baroque genius: Caravaggio. Based on the interpretation of the painting Martha and Mary Magdalene (1598), specifically the ivory comb that appears in the foreground, the film explores various themes through a very particular use of archival images.
