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AGORA -  (unrated)

2009 - Spain - English - 127 minutes - Newmarket Films

Directed by: Alejandro Amenábar

Featuring: Rachel Weisz, Max Minghella, Oscar Isaac
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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 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 and Davus, 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.

"Weisz is an excellent Hypatia. For all her intelligence, there’s something childish, off-kilter, vaguely otherworldly in her aura. She’s just the type to be gazing into the heavens while around her all hell breaks loose."
-David Edelstein, New York Magazine

"A bit of a puzzle. This is a good thing, since most movies plop down in easily recognizable categories and stay there, troubling neither their own intellectual inertia nor that of the audience."
-A.O. Scott, New York Times
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Users Comments

Posted by : Elias Date Added: 7/20/2010 3:58:58 PMreport this post 
It is very good movie but like all commercial enterprises playing to its moodern audience. The historical Hypatia as well as St. Cyril were greater and more complex characters then portrayed. Hypatia was the head of the Neoplatonic School of Alexandria founded by Plotinus a major reasearch center and highly respected by pagans and Christians alike who recognized her brilliance. She was also very politically astute. The Pope had and has nothing to do with the Church of Alexandria. The Bishop/Pope of Rome and the Bishop/Patriarch of Alexandria were equals. The head of the Church at the time(and for centuries thereafter) was the Emperor of the Roman Empire based in Constantinople who gave the order to destroy the pagan Temples including the Serepeum.

Posted by : chaval Date Added: 9/7/2010 7:38:58 AMreport this post 
i'm lovin' it!

Posted by : Fantastic movie! Date Added: 10/7/2010 12:13:45 AMreport this post 
It's a very good movie, it probably will make Catholics who believe every word the pope says very uncomfortable. It does explore the brutality of the early Catholic Church's drive for power and the consequences. It's a movie for people who aren't afraid to think, question and put things into perspective. Hypatia, while positively portrayed is not shown as a heroine without flaw. The movie's depiction of Roman society's use of slaves is a part of the complexity of the whole. It deserves 5 stars.

Posted by : One good resource Date Added: 11/7/2010 4:59:51 PMreport this post 
for people looking for historical background on the events in the film: the BBC's radio 4 program "In Our Time" with Melvyn Bragg covered the library at Alexandria some time ago. The archived program can be found on its website.

     Total Comments:  4   Lowest vote: 1  Highest vote: 5
Average Score: 3.5 out of 5
 

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