Everybody has heard of Napoleon. History classes have told us that he is one of the greatest conquerors to ever have lived. But, at least back then, we have never realized the capacity of that word. Conqueror; a word that basically means “to gain by force”, has lost its cruel meaning over time. That word, as we go through Western histories, has been redesigned to signify “glory”. The word turned into a revered title, as was used by William the Conqueror. Another example is Alexander the Great, in which his conquest was reimagined as a “civilizer.” Conquering, then, turned into something moralized—a disguise of spreading knowledge, bringing law, and liberating the locals from despotism, when it is in fact to steal land and resources from them.
Apoleon (2024) satirizes the grand Napoleon mythos—using the figurines from the Musée de l’Armée (lit. The Army Museum) in Paris to revise the narrative, further ridiculing the colonial logic of the French conquest. Egyptian director Amir Youssef retells the history of when the French invaded Egypt in the 18th century. Napoleon, utilizing orientalist mimicry, claims that he and his army are “true Muslims” that is prophesied to free the Egyptians from the authoritarian ruling of the Mamluks. Using humor and surrealism, and the blending of the future and past, Youssef rereads history through a decolonial lens. The short film follows through with some grand colonial mythos too: for example, the hearsay that Napoleon’s canon was responsible for the destruction of the Sphinx’s nose. That myth was long proven to be wrong, but its usage in the short film symbolizes the fractures of known-history whilst also making fun of it.
The greatest decolonial shift happens in the story when the so-called great Emperor of the French stands small under the feet of the Sphinx. In his puniness, he asks the Sphinx for knowledge. To which the Sphinx replied, “That may cost too much,” asserting that understanding cannot come without consequence, showing epistemic resistance against colonial powers that try to comprehend it. Like a Faustian myth, Napoleon replies with the arrogance of a man unacquainted with the limits of impossibility, “Your price will be mine.” His naivety turns into his downfall: a conqueror turned into mere relic that is further questioned with time.
As time passes, the colonial roots that blurs Napoleon’s conquest into “a mission for enlightenment” will forever be held in inquiry. Apoleon, a Greek word meaning to kill or destroy. By defaming and playing around with Napoleon’s name, removing the capital N from his infamous name reveals his true nature. We shall forever remove the “N” from his name, mirroring from when he removed the stories from a lot of nations beneath the façade of “universal reason”. He is apoleon—destroyer—never anything else in grandness. (Timmie) (Ed. Vanis)
Film Details
Apoleon (أبوليون)
Amir Youssef | 14 min | 2024 | Egypt, France
Official Selection for Spektrum
Festival Film Dokumenter 2025
