Agora
4th century A.D. Egypt under the Roman Empire— Violent religious upheaval in the streets of Alexandria spills over into the city's famous Library. Trapped inside its walls, the brilliant astronomer Hypatia (Rachel Weisz) and her disciples fight to save the wisdom of the Ancient World. Among them, the two men competing for her heart: the witty, privileged Orestes (Oscar Isaac) and Davus (Max Minghella), Hypatia's young slave, who is torn between his secret love for her and the freedom he knows can be his if he chooses to join the unstoppable surge of the Christians.
Member Reviews
Open Minds.... - Cruce
Sometimes I wonder if people actually WATCH the films the review. This film is not kind to religion (period). In that sense, what it portrays is both a reflection of today's society, and society as it existed then. None of the groups depicted are tolerant of the others. In addition, it depicts, accurately, the fate of an intelligent woman in that day.
As a film, it is not an "action adventure" movie. If you are looking for that sort of thing, you should reconsider your choice. The movie does a good job of showing what mob violence in that day was like. Nasty, brutish, and no finesse.
In terms of film-craft, the camera work is extraordinarily good. As has been noted elsewhere, all of the long shots, space and otherwise, are used to very good effect.
To sum up: This movie does a very good job of depicting intelligent people try to explain things that they simply don't have the science to understand. It isn't pretty, and it doesn't romanticize.OK - a2them
A good historical piece that examines some of the early conflicts between Christinanity and paganism.
Obviously the movie in many ways is a reflection of many of the conflicts that are occurring today and highlights that the intollerance we see so often today is not new. There is a message in this movie, however like other posters have noted the movie is a tad on the slow side.Agora. - Derekstar
Oh man, this movie is so good. Ridiculously under-seen, I had never even heard of it until like a year after it came out. Sitting around philosophizing about the Universe is so much more interesting than fight scenes. I'm just sitting there 100% rooting for science, thinking "no, you've almost got it!" I guess you could say it's a bit of a nerdy movie. But it's such a refreshing revival (or undermining?) of the Sword and Sandal genre. There's some fighting I guess, but it's just a bunch of knuckle-draggers throwing rocks at each other. Not attempting to glamorize or dazzle like every other movie of this type is. I mean, I guess I would have liked the movie more if it consisted entirely of Philosophers sitting in the Library of Alexandria decoding the mysteries of the Universe, but I don't think anybody else would have enjoyed that.
Also, I just need to say that the shots of Earth from space were awesome. I was quite moved by them. Kind of made me feel a combination of awe and despair. Hope and hopelessness. A strange feeling. I can't a technique like this used in any other film. It was kind of Carl Sagan's Pale Blue Dot put into practice.
Agora is highly recommended.
Member Reviews
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Open Minds.... - Cruce
Sometimes I wonder if people actually WATCH the films the review. This film is not kind to religion (period). In that sense, what it portrays is both a reflection of today's society, and society as it existed then. None of the groups depicted are tolerant ...OK - a2them
A good historical piece that examines some of the early conflicts between Christinanity and paganism.
Obviously the movie in many ways is a reflection of many of the conflicts that are occurring today and highlights that the intollerance we see so ...Agora. - Derekstar
Oh man, this movie is so good. Ridiculously under-seen, I had never even heard of it until like a year after it came out. Sitting around philosophizing about the Universe is so much more interesting than fight scenes. I'm just sitting there 100% rooting for ...