I'm going to be honest and admit to my bias right now. Agora evoked strong emotions and I am not going to be politically correct or especially sensitive to other religions. And of course, what I mean by "religion" is Christianity. It was a difficult movie to watch, painful even. And if you don't want to know anything about it, you should stop reading now.
We are used to seeing movies and shows about classical antiquity as CGI epics with togas, swords and sex -- HBO's Rome, Starz's Spartacus, Troy, Gladiator. Though it is virtually stunning, Agora is not that spectacle. This is a drama about ideas and faith in the gods and in knowledge. At its center is Hypatia, an astronomer, mathematician, philosopher, and respected teacher at Egypt's famed Library of Alexandria in the fourth century, the tipping point between paganism and the new religion of Christianity.
There are few spoilers here. It's like telling you the end of Romeo and Juliet. We all know what happens. We know that in CE 391, Emperor Theodosius I ordered the destruction of pagan temples and we know that Hypatia was brutally killed at the hands of Christian monks. Many reviewers will say there are no pacifists in Agora, that there is cruelty on both sides, but I disagree. The conflict is begun by Christians and, although the pagans meet it with violence, they do so in an effort to save their way of life. The pagan temples are destroyed, the Library is destroyed, and paganism is forbidden. When that is not enough, the Christians attack the Jews. When that is not enough, they attack the wrongs kinds of Christians. When that is not enough, they go after Hypatia.
Hypatia is played by Rachel Weisz with elegance and dignity. She is beautiful, which does not go unnoticed by her students, but Weisz doesn't exploit that beauty and, as Hypatia, she is unconcerned by the love and lust she inspires. She is passionate only for her ideas. I dreaded approaching the end of the movie and of our heroine, but I found it to be the single weak point in Agora. It goes soft in the end and spares both the audience and the film's Hypatia of the horror that the real woman suffered. The end made the movie less effective, but only by a little.
Agora premiered at the 2009 Cannes Film Festival, but was initially unable to find a domestic distributor. It did eventually, but it has had a limited release. There has been speculation as to why. Some critics have said it's due to the film's budget and length (it's just over two hours). Others suspect that it's because the film is critical of Christianity, but then wonder about movies like The Da Vinci Code which is also critical and controversial, but received large distribution and was a blockbuster hit. But director and co-writer Alejandro Amenabar takes his story much further than movies like The Da Vinci Code.
The Christians in Agora, nearly all of whom wear black, are not corrupt and hungry for power or wealth. They are motivated by their faith above all else. They are militant zealots and spread fundamentalism like an infection through Alexandria. In one brilliant scene, the camera pulls up and we look down at the Christians dressed in black and moving rapidly as they riot. They look like vile cockroaches scrambling. In contrast, the pagans in the film wear light colors and are keepers of knowledge and wisdom, racing to rescue armloads of scrolls as the Christian descend on the Library. Amenabar is clear that Christian fundamentalism is the villain in Agora and it's hard not to agree with him, but this not anti-religious bias; it's history. Though it is a Christian at the movie's end that performs a heartbreaking act of charity, it is performed for love not God.
Watching the movie, I was deeply stirred and I cried for the loss of our temples, at seeing the statues of our gods toppled, and for Hypatia. And later, when the movie was long over, I felt angry. It's is the kind of movie that makes me wonder if we, as Pagans, will ever have peace with Christians. Agora is an beautiful, absorbing film that all Pagans should see.
We are used to seeing movies and shows about classical antiquity as CGI epics with togas, swords and sex -- HBO's Rome, Starz's Spartacus, Troy, Gladiator. Though it is virtually stunning, Agora is not that spectacle. This is a drama about ideas and faith in the gods and in knowledge. At its center is Hypatia, an astronomer, mathematician, philosopher, and respected teacher at Egypt's famed Library of Alexandria in the fourth century, the tipping point between paganism and the new religion of Christianity.
There are few spoilers here. It's like telling you the end of Romeo and Juliet. We all know what happens. We know that in CE 391, Emperor Theodosius I ordered the destruction of pagan temples and we know that Hypatia was brutally killed at the hands of Christian monks. Many reviewers will say there are no pacifists in Agora, that there is cruelty on both sides, but I disagree. The conflict is begun by Christians and, although the pagans meet it with violence, they do so in an effort to save their way of life. The pagan temples are destroyed, the Library is destroyed, and paganism is forbidden. When that is not enough, the Christians attack the Jews. When that is not enough, they attack the wrongs kinds of Christians. When that is not enough, they go after Hypatia.
Hypatia is played by Rachel Weisz with elegance and dignity. She is beautiful, which does not go unnoticed by her students, but Weisz doesn't exploit that beauty and, as Hypatia, she is unconcerned by the love and lust she inspires. She is passionate only for her ideas. I dreaded approaching the end of the movie and of our heroine, but I found it to be the single weak point in Agora. It goes soft in the end and spares both the audience and the film's Hypatia of the horror that the real woman suffered. The end made the movie less effective, but only by a little.
Agora premiered at the 2009 Cannes Film Festival, but was initially unable to find a domestic distributor. It did eventually, but it has had a limited release. There has been speculation as to why. Some critics have said it's due to the film's budget and length (it's just over two hours). Others suspect that it's because the film is critical of Christianity, but then wonder about movies like The Da Vinci Code which is also critical and controversial, but received large distribution and was a blockbuster hit. But director and co-writer Alejandro Amenabar takes his story much further than movies like The Da Vinci Code.
The Christians in Agora, nearly all of whom wear black, are not corrupt and hungry for power or wealth. They are motivated by their faith above all else. They are militant zealots and spread fundamentalism like an infection through Alexandria. In one brilliant scene, the camera pulls up and we look down at the Christians dressed in black and moving rapidly as they riot. They look like vile cockroaches scrambling. In contrast, the pagans in the film wear light colors and are keepers of knowledge and wisdom, racing to rescue armloads of scrolls as the Christian descend on the Library. Amenabar is clear that Christian fundamentalism is the villain in Agora and it's hard not to agree with him, but this not anti-religious bias; it's history. Though it is a Christian at the movie's end that performs a heartbreaking act of charity, it is performed for love not God.
Watching the movie, I was deeply stirred and I cried for the loss of our temples, at seeing the statues of our gods toppled, and for Hypatia. And later, when the movie was long over, I felt angry. It's is the kind of movie that makes me wonder if we, as Pagans, will ever have peace with Christians. Agora is an beautiful, absorbing film that all Pagans should see.
A very thoughtful review and, I agree, the film was beautifully shot. I saw Agora when it first came out in NYC and loved Weisz' performance as Hypatia. Amenabar distorts some history in service to his art (the Library didn't end that way and Synesius wasn't a jerk), but that's what artists do. I don't go to the movies for history. For people who want to know more about the historical Hypatia, I highly recommend a very readable biography "Hypatia of Alexandria" by Maria Dzielska (Harvard University Press, 1995). I also have a series of posts on the historical events and characters in the film at my blog - not a movie review, just a "reel vs. real" discussion.
ReplyDeleteI have mixed feelings about history in the movies. On the one hand, I appreciate a historical approach, but that's not why I go to the movies either. I dislike it when filmmakers try to sell their movies as history. It shapes it in minds of audiences.
ReplyDeleteThank you for stopping by and for leaving a link to your excellent blog. I look forward to reading more.