"[27], The film holds a 53% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes, based on 92 reviews with an average score of 5.7/10. Max Minghella co-stars as Davus, Hypatia's father's slave, and Oscar Isaac as Hypatia's student, and later prefect of Alexandria, Orestes. Surrounded by religious turmoil and social unrest, Hypatia struggles to save the knowledge of classical antiquity from destruction. When the mob goes outside to collect stones, Davus suffocates her to spare her the pain of being stoned and tells the mob that she fainted. Agora is the film centers around the astronomer-philosopher Hypatia of Alexandria (Weisz) and several men whom she knows such as her slave Davus (Minghella), who is torn between his love for … (...) In particular, in watching the deeply moving final scene, her going calmly to her death amidst the jeering mob, I could not help but strongly recall Jesus Christ on his own way to Golgotha". ', Sarma, ‘The Archaic and the Exotic: studies in the history of Indian astronomical instruments’, p. 241 (2008). According to Amenábar, "There’s one scene in which Cyril reads from St. Paul and [the Vatican] tried to look for the softest version. Synopsis 'The invention of the astrolabe is usually attributed to Hipparchus of the second century BC. Justin Pollard, co-author of The Rise and Fall of Alexandria (2007), was the historical adviser for the film. However, in the ensuing battle, the pagans unexpectedly find themselves outnumbered by a large Christian mob. American screenwriter and critic Roger Ebert liked the film and gave it three stars out of four. As of 10 January 2011, Agora's worldwide box office earnings were approximately $39 million. Alexandria, 391 AD: Hypatia teaches astronomy, mathematics, and philosophy. Directed by Alejandro Amenábar. According to Box Office Mojo, its widest release in the United States was just 17 theaters.[33]. However, due to religious objections against heliocentrism, the Christians have now forbidden Hypatia to teach at the school. Trapped inside its walls, the brilliant astronomer Hypatia (Rachel Weisz) and her disciples fight to save the wisdom of the Ancient World. Some things never change. 9:06 AM PDT 5/17/2009 by Natasha Senjanovic , AP FACEBOOK; TWITTER; EMAIL ME; Jason Kempin/Getty Images. [43] Also, the Christians completely demolished the Serapeum to the ground, leaving no part of its structure intact;[36] whereas, in the film, they merely knock over all the statues and burn the (probably nonexistent) scrolls. Although her former slave doesn't see it that way. Agora (R) Newmarket (126 min.) The story uses historical fiction to highlight the relationship between religion and science at the time amidst the decline of Greco-Roman polytheism and the Christianization of the Roman Empire. Several years later, Orestes, now converted to Christianity, is prefect of Alexandria. [28], Before its release, the distribution company insisted on screening the film at the Vatican. [34] DVD and Blu-ray sales numbers are not publicly available. Agora is a multileveled portrait of zeal. An in depth analysis of Alejandro Amenabár's 2009 movie, 'Agora.' He later returns with a gladius and sexually assaults her, but he begins to sob and offers his sword to her. Agora Fourth century A.D. Egypt under the Roman Empire— Violent religious upheaval in the streets of Alexandria spills over into the city's famous Library. The biopic stars Rachel Weisz as Hypatia, a mathematician, philosopher and astronomer in late 4th-century Roman Egypt, who investigates the flaws of the geocentric Ptolemaic system and the heliocentric model that challenges it. [15] Filming ended in June. | [36][43] The last references to anyone having held membership in the Mouseion (the larger research institute which contained the library) date to the 260s AD. & the important of tolerance and asking questions, the pursuit of knowledge. [36] Agora also strongly implies that Hypatia was an atheist,[43] which directly contradicts the historical fact that she was a Neoplatonist follower of the teachings of Plotinus, who believed that the goal of philosophy was "a mystical union with the divine. Oscar Issac with Rachel Weisz. This is one ambitious and cerebral flick! Surrounded by religious turmoil and social unrest, Hypatia struggles to save the knowledge of classical antiquity from destruction. The title of the film takes its name from the agora, a public gathering place in ancient Greece, similar to the Roman forum. [48] Similarly, an atheist blogger Tim O'Neill remarks: "Over and over again, elements are added to the story that are not in the source material: the destruction of the library, the stoning of the Jews in the theatre, Cyril condemning Hypatia's teaching because she is a woman, the heliocentric "breakthrough" and Hypatia's supposed irreligiosity. Now in reference to the event, various individuals resulting in different influences have assumed different interpretations. Hypatia has no interest in faith; she's concerned about the movement of celestial bodies and "the brotherhood of all". “Agora” is a rousing toga drama from the Chilean-born director Alejandro Amenábar about the culture wars in ancient Egypt. Agora, Alejandro Amenábar's absorbing historical drama, proves that, in an era of movies made for iPhones with artistic ambitions to match, there are still filmmakers willing to swing for the fences. [35], Antonio Mampaso, a Spanish astrophysicist and one of Agora's scientific advisors, stated in an interview that "We know that Hypatia lived in Alexandria in the IV and V centuries CE, until her death in 415. "[8] The line is excerpted from 1 Timothy 2:8–2:12. [36] The Roman soldiers are shown wearing generic armor and weapons resembling the type used in the first century AD,[36] but the film is actually set in the fifth century AD, by which time Roman troops no longer wore leather armor[36] and would have instead worn scale armor or chain mail. Rise and Fall: A Reflection Paper on the film ‘Agora’ Posted on January 26, 2014 by kamcaleon A person holds onto something and believes on it while he can because if he does not, he would easily fall and crumble in times of doubts and questionings. Release Calendar DVD & Blu-ray Releases Top Rated Movies Most Popular Movies Browse Movies by Genre Top Box Office Showtimes & Tickets Showtimes & Tickets In Theaters Coming Soon Coming Soon Movie News India Movie Spotlight. Agora. Hypatia, her father's slave, Davus, and two of her pupils, Orestes and Synesius, are immersed in the changing political and social landscape. Original title: Ágora. Summary: A historical drama set in Roman Egypt, concerning a slave who turns to the rising tide of Christianity in the hopes of pursuing freedom while also falling in love with his master, the famous female philosophy professor and atheist Hypatia of Alexandria. Hypatia theorizes that the Earth orbits around the Sun in an elliptic orbit, not a circular orbit, with the Sun at one of the foci. Ágora is a film directed by Alejandro Amenábar with Rachel Weisz, Max Minghella, Ashraf Barhom, Oscar Isaac .... Year: 2009. The film grossed over $32.3 million (€21.4 million) by 1 December 2009, and about $35 million by 1 February 2010. Alejandro Amenábar’s Agora is a work of hagiography, and, for that matter, of anti-hagiography. He said: "I went to see Agora expecting an epic with swords, sandals and sex. This is a movie about ideas, a drama based on the ancient war between science and superstition. Stephen Whitty's rating: 2 Stars Rating note: The film … In the English version, [it is] taken from the King James version of the Bible. Theon is gravely injured, and Hypatia and the pagans take refuge in the Library of the Serapeum. The leader of the Christians, Cyril, views Hypatia as having too much influence over Orestes and stages a public ceremony intended to force Orestes to subjugate her. Cyril convinces a mob of Christians that Hypatia is a witch, and they vow to kill her. When they ask Davus what his opinion is, he avoids conflict by saying that only God knows these things. Only three primary sources mention Hypatia of Alexandria, apart from other secondary ones". The Christians and the Jews come into violent conflict. AGORA is a well-made attack on Christianity that’s also a biography of the female pagan philosopher Hypatia, who lived between about 370 and 415 A.D. When the Christians start defiling the statues of the pagan gods and cause one of their priests to burn in a fire, the pagans, including Orestes and Theon, ambush the Christians. A group from the newly empowered Christians has now taken to enforce their cultural hegemony zealously; first they see the Jews as their obstacle, then nonbelievers. However, she removes his slave collar and tells him that he is free. Agora Movie Review. Then the project became really, really intriguing, because we realized that we could make a movie about the past while actually making a movie about the present."[11]. Time Out says. Agora was nominated for 13 Goya Awards, winning 7. The film was directed by Alejandro and written by Mateo Gil with the assistance from the producer (Mayer, 2010). The Christian siege of the library ends when an envoy of the Roman Emperor declares that the pagans are pardoned, however the Christians shall be allowed to enter the library and do with it what they please. Plot Keywords (...) Hypatia as depicted in the film is firmly opposed to what, in her time and at her city, is offered—or rather, imposed by brute force—under the name of 'Christianity'. They strip Hypatia and are about to skin her alive until Davus persuades the mob otherwise, and they decide to stone her instead. Synopsis: A long-awaited film from Alejandro Amenabar (Sea Inside, The Others) set in the ancient Egypt. Those are the real heroes of the movie. [18][19] The North America premiere was held at the Toronto International Film Festival in September, 2009. Agora -- Film Review. Davus leaves as they begin to stone her. The film opened on the West Coast of the United States on June 4, playing only two screens: at The Landmark theatre in Los Angeles and at Regal's Westpark 8 in Irvine. Discussion following with designer Guy Hendrix Dyas and set decorator Larry Dias, moderated by production designer John Muto. ', Waithe, 'Ancient women philosophers, 600 B.C.-500 A.D.', p. 192 (1987). [46] Although Christians under the decree of the bishop Theophilus did destroy the Serapeum of Alexandria in 391 AD,[36][43] which, at one time, had housed scrolls from the Library of Alexandria,[43] the Serapeum probably no longer had any scrolls in it at the time of its destruction, since sources prior to 391 speak of its libraries in the past tense. A visually imposing, high-minded epic that ambitiously puts one of the pivotal moments in Western history onscreen for the first time. | 3 out of 5 stars. Alejandro Amenábar has made an ambitious, cerebral and complex movie set in fourth-century Alexandria, the era in which the famous library was … Film, Drama. This is a scientific instrument which was then in common use, although Hypatian is often credited with its invention. 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 … No objections were reported and Vatican officials assisted in some of the religious depictions. The Christian siege of the library ends when an envoy of the Roman Emperor Theodosius I declares that the pagans are pardoned, but the Christians shall be allowed to take possession of the library. Synopsis. Generally, Agora is a beautifully serene movie, full of tragic instances, unclear romance essentially and powerfully brought out in the guise of religious dark ages. It was awarded the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation Feature Film Prize at the Hamptons International Film Festival. Filled with literal and metaphysical stone throwing between the religions, Agora is saddled with a muddy narrative and too many blokes who look alike. [9] A year before the start of pre-production, designer Guy Hendrix Dyas spent three weeks with Amenábar in Madrid to do some preliminary work on the set designs and the recreation of the ancient city of Alexandria so that previous animations could be generated. I wanted to show astronomy and those who study it in the most appealing way. "Ep. [29], The Religious Anti-Defamation Observatory (Observatorio Antidifamación Religiosa), a Spanish Catholic group, claimed that the film was responsible for "promoting hatred of Christians and reinforcing false clichés about the Catholic Church. Seeing the Milky Way galaxy, Amenábar began to discuss astronomy with his friends, speculating about extraterrestrial life on other planets. After Amenábar completed The Sea Inside (2004), he took a break and traveled to the island of Malta, where he used his free time to explore the night sky. [9] Amenábar also studied historical figures such as Ptolemy, Copernicus, Johannes Kepler and Galileo,[10] but found himself most interested in the story of Hypatia, a 4th-century Greek astronomer whose history, he felt, was still relevant in the 21st century: "We realized that this particular time in the world had a lot of connections with our contemporary reality. However, in the ensuing battle, the pagans unexpectedly find themselves outnumbered by a large Christian mob. Set in Roman Egypt, 400 A.D., this compelling historical drama follows Hypatia (Rachel Weisz), a Greek woman and mathematician, astronomer and philosopher bravely struggling to save the wisdom of classical antiquity in the midst of religious war. Agora (Spanish: Ágora) is a 2009 Spanish English-language historical drama film directed by Alejandro Amenábar and written by Amenábar and Mateo Gil. In 2009, film director Alejandro Amenabar brought the story of Hypatia of Alexandria (c. 370-415 CE) to the screen through the feature film Agora.Prior to the film's release, and more so following, Christian writers criticized the movie's historical inaccuracies and … Movie title: Agora: Release year: 2009: MPAA Rating: NR: Our rating: Summary: It's ancient Egypt, and the Christians and pagans are at each other's throats. ', Forbes, 'A Short History of the Art of Distillation: from the beginnings up to the death of Cellier Blumenthal', p. 25 (1970). But there is no firm evidence to support this view. I found swords and sandals, some unexpected opinions about sex, and a great deal more. Parents Guide. She rejects Orestes's love as she prefers to devote herself to science. 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