Searching for Josephine

Joséphine

Joséphine de Beauharnais, born Rose Tascher de la Pagerie, daughter of a poor Martinique farmer, was the wife of the young and fickle Viscount de Beauharnais, before she became a widow aged just 31. Subsequently she became the perfect partner of the future French emperor Napoleon Bonaparte as well as one of the most extraordinary women of her time.
The documentary takes us to the places that Joséphine lived in and visited: the Caribbeans (Martinique), Italy (Milan, Venice, Lake Garda, Udine), France (Paris, Fountainebleau, Plombières) and subsequently the Malmaison castle where she spent the last years of her life.
We will travel to the poor crops in Martinique where Joséphine grew up, and then we will visit the church where, merely aged 16, she was forced to marry Beauharnais in an arranged ceremony. We will unveil how she escaped the guillotine whilst held prisoner at Carmes during the Reign of Terror, and we will read the love letters that Napoleon wrote to her. With the help of passionate, articulated and amusing authors, experts and historians, the documentary recounts the most important events in Joséphine’s life and analyses the impact that this incredible woman had at the time. Through documents, illustrations, historical evidence and experts’ accounts, we will tell the real story of an incredibly intelligent woman, who overcame many hurdles to became the first French empress following an astounding and remarkable rise to power.