French journalists criticize the movie “Napoleon” for historical inaccuracies and anti-French stance
The film Napoleon by Ridley Scott is dedicated to the great French commander and emperor Napoleon Bonaparte, but apparently the French themselves were not too impressed by this story.
In addition to being harshly rejected by French film critics, the film did not have a particularly bright debut on its first day of release, grossing $946,000 and selling 120 thousand. tickets, according to Comscore France. For comparison, Oppenheimer sold 150 thousand units on the same market on the first day. tickets.
“Napoleon, starring Joaquin Phoenix and Vanessa Kirby, faced harsh criticism from French journalists for alleged historical inaccuracies and anti-French stance.
In addition, Phoenix’s performance provoked ridicule from a number of reputable publications, such as the France Culture radio station, which compared the actor’s appearance to that of a “dusty wax figure.”
The most harsh review was published by the national newspaper Le Figaro, which suggested renaming the film Barbie and Ken Under the Empire. On television, the film sparked a heated debate on talk shows and on news channels such as BFMTV, where politicians expressed their opinions on the film.
But Scott brushed aside the venomous critics, telling the BBC that “the French don’t even like the way they are.”
Nevertheless, this is Scott’s best start in France in recent years. His last two films, House of Guccii and The Last Duel, sold only 33,895 and 22,000 tickets respectively on their first day in French theaters.
However, Napoleon is still a long way from the success of Scott’s Gladiator in France, which debuted in 2000 with 195,000 tickets sold.
