Napoleon

On Friday, November 24th, 6 TIC members and 2 guests braved the dreary and damp weather to meet at Pathe for Napoleon – our movie choice for this month. The film, by director Ridley Scott, starred Joaquin Phoenix, and was an epic 3 hours long. The film offered a look at the military commander’s origins and his swift, ruthless climb to emperor, as well as his fall from grace and exile from France. All was viewed through the prism of his addictive and often volatile relationship with his wife and one true love, Josephine.

When we talked about the film over a drink afterward, the words we felt that best summed up the film were battles and adultery. Even though Napoleon and Josephine were each other’s “true love” neither felt the need to be sexually exclusive. As far as battles were concerned, Napoleon and his troops always seemed to be fighting one. At the end of the film, it was written that Napoleon was in 61 battles which resulted in around 3 million combat deaths. Truly a stunning number… Fortunately, there were plenty of other things to talk about over a post-film drink that were more interesting. All in all, it was felt that a film on a rainy Friday evening was a good way to start the weekend.