Historial drama set in Roman Egypt, centered on Hypatia (Rachel Weisz), history’s first recorded female mathematician-philosopher and atheist. She lived in Alexandria during the 4th century, in the waning days of the Roman Empire. The daughter of the last director of the famed Library of Alexandria, she was known foremost as a brilliant theorist in astronomy, but 5th-century texts also speak of her forthright participation in public life and her 'extraordinary dignity and virtue'.
As she studies the mysteries of the universe, the paganism of its Roman rulers is being aggressively challenged by the recently legitimised Christians. Alejandro Amenábar’s extravagantly mounted account of Hypatia’s struggle stars Rachel Weisz and a cast of thousands. All hail the first historical epic to swirl around a heroine whose great virtue is her charismatic rationalism. (New Zealand International Film Festival 2010)
I apologise, we feel bad, but there's no trailer available. ~Ed.
A cross between Troy, TV's Rome and Planet of the Apes, Spanish director Amenábar's epic but po-faced tale of shifting religious persecutions is very much a movie of two halves. The first focus is on the thinking Roman's cheesecake Hypatia, her young acolytes (most of whom are in love with her which leads to one of the worst rebuff gifts ever) and the Christian uprising, the second half showcases her boys' rise to power and the sacrifices she is forced to make.
Filled with literal and metaphysical stone throwing between the religions (which at times threatens to descend into Pythonesque or Chris Morris territory), Agora is saddled with a muddy narrative and too many blokes who look alike. Whilst there's a nice explanation of modern astronomy using a petanque pit and balls, the film gets bogged down in interpretations of faith, which means the unusually long dialogue-free stretches are actually something of a blessing, despite the intrusion of an over-the-top wail-tastic soundtrack.
And while you can see what attracted the luminous and charismatic Weisz to the role, she is at times marginalised in this supposedly feminist tale and naturally ends up naked and in less than rude health by the end.
By James Croot, Flicks.co.nz
An interesting but often frustrating effort by the director of The Sea Inside, who proves that ambition and talent aren't enough to ensure a compelling drama.
good if you like Rachel Weisz. nice costumes and sets, not great story
It's clear this isn't everyones kind of movie - hell, Morbane even wrote a negative review, despite failing to hang around for the drama-filled second half . But I'm especially surprised at Hutch's review above. In my opinion Agora is a very solid watch. I'm amazed Hutch found it shallow and soapish. I'm more with Guardian critic Peter Bradshaw, who called it "ambitious, cerebral and complex". Instead of glorying in cardboard heroes and corny romance like so many historical movies, I felt that Agora set out to capture ideas (eg the consequences of intolerance, religion versus science), and also gave a powerful sense of the horror of the mob. Hutch, your wording makes me wonder if you have thought much about the creative challenges of actually retelling complex history on film, with all the commercial pressures that accompany big budgets. This film has partly failed to become a big hit, precisely because it fails to take the easy path (romance, heroes etc). For a more positive angle on the film, check out the New York Times review below. Cheers!
I was probably setting myself up to be disappointed due to the trumpeting and advertising alleging that a powerful, deep and highly significant recounting of a remarkable period of history was being portrayed. The reality for me was that this was a shallow, soap-ish portrayal of little apparent depth, about a remarkable and powerful era in Middle-East / North African history. The relative hollowness and lack of depth was possibly accentuated and made the more evident by the richness of setting, costume and sets. These presented as beautiful, but empty shells containing an insipid, poorly structured and highly subjective story
This movie was disappointing. They could have given the budget for their gorgeous sets, photography, and costumes to someone else, and filled the frame with the words, "The stupidity of people causes bad things to happen"; the story would not have diminished. If you want to hear the moral "Fundamentalism is bad" writ large, this is your movie; if you are interested in the human side of history, look elsewhere. The premise and the historical period could offer so much more than this clumsy plot driven by romance and mobs. But perhaps it improved in the second hour?
Weisz makes for a vivid, charismatic Hypatia, but the script lets her down.
This is a movie about ideas, a drama based on the ancient war between science and superstition. At its center is a woman who in the fourth century A.D. was a scientist, mathematician, philosopher, astronomer and teacher, respected in Egypt, although women were not expected to be any of those things.
Always intelligent and thought-provoking, it's a welcome return from Amenábar.
It is a pleasure to see Weisz's scenes of scientific inquiry, which capture the passion of research and discovery without artifice or pretension. That the scientist is a woman makes it all the more engaging.
The subject is absorbing, but the lack of differentiation in dramatic levels makes the film feel longer than its 126 minutes.
We've been told the NZ release date for this flick is Thursday, 26th May 2011.
Release date: May 26th 2011.
We haven't received times for this movie in this location yet. However these are updated as cinemas announce them, so check back soon. Hopefully the lovely cinemas in your location will choose to play it shortly. ~Ed.
