Agora (2009)

I recently watched this movie. The film is truly interesting, intelligent, well-conceived. I seriously cried reaching the end of this movie. Weisz as Lady Hypatia truly inhabits the role as the loving, caring, and intelligent woman who believes in observing, learning, and saving important documents for the future generations, and much later, believes this might just be a more difficult task to carry out. Directed with the intelligence and complexity "Agora" is loaded with much material that might be too controversial for some. It exposes how dogma is created and manipulated. It tries to balance politics with personal drama, and how sometimes compromises are reached, with the respective parties' personal agendas being more important than faith itself. It also shows how the mobs are desperate to embrace the promise of something better, and how the ruling parties sometimes are ignorant of what's brewing right in front of their faces.

"Agora" doesn't canonize anyone. It exposes various points of views, and it shows how easy it is for empires to crumble, when the right personality is willing to step in and take chances to manipulate the populace. It is truly scary as we see some intelligent individuals give in, seeing in their eyes, that survival might more important than fighting injustice and pure greed for power, especially when the numbers are skewed. There are a couple of moments in this film when you can't help but shake with anger as injustices are happening in front of us and we can't make a move to correct the situation. Unlike what I have seen in a couple of reviews, I think the performances here are truly interesting and very charismatic, in particular Weisz, as the very intelligent philosopher who can't believe what she is witnessing and never surrenders her integrity, even when she is posed with a very good offer who would have allowed her at least the opportunity to buy some time. The rest of the cast is almost as good, as each man in her life shows a different side of human nature and through their own interpretation and appreciation of her powerful presence, show that she is indeed a remarkable force.

In addition to the important themes we see throughout the film, we are dealing with an epic, a film unlike the big spectacles of the 50's and 60's, except this one has very strong foundations, but it's impossible not to be awed by the recreation of a long, lost era, as we see some of the marvels of the ancient world, some truly accurate costumes, and some impressive art direction. Here is a world that has been rendered for us, and it appears alive, real, detached for the classic interpretations done in the past, where we saw too much of contemporary influences in lighting, make up, and costuming. The look of "Agora" is more faithful to the ancient statues, drawings, and mosaics that we find in museums. The research seems to be based at least in various reliable sources, and the marvels of CGI are not getting in the way of the acting and the essence of the film.

Although all the fighting causes death and destruction, it sets mankind back centuries in progress and education. We can't know for sure if Hypatia was on the verge of such scientific theories that far back, but the point definitely comes across. Amenabar made a statement before the screening that if the Alexandria library had not been destroyed, we might have landed on Mars already. The interesting thought of those words is that they might not be as bold as you'd initially think. So much knowledge was lost in this bickering feud without reason besides needing some form of victory in a pissing contest. It is something to consider especially when you look at history after that point and the countless deaths of visionaries and potentially brilliant minds due to zealotry, genocide, and just plain blind aggression or inferiority complexes. I'm sure the fact that the film shows three religions at war, none of which are Muslim, isn't lost on the filmmakers and serves as some sort of comment towards political tensions today, but you have to read into the tale to get to that point; I think it works as a historical epic alone without the need of social commentary of the present. As a piece of history and as entertaining wartime cinema, I think Agora earns the right to be seen.

I give 80% fresh for this movie.