Review of Agora (2009) by Laurie T — 03 Feb 2013

Not a film for devout Christians or Jews, but entertaining for fans of costume dramas with dark, brooding actors. I had read a historical novel (the Dream of Scipio) with a character loosely based on Hypatia, but she doesn't meet a bloody end: she lives into philosophic old age. Her beauty is suggested by the existence of rejected suitors, so it's not just the magnetism required by a visual medium. I loved "Abre los Ojos" and "Mar Adentro", and while this one is not quite as good as either of its predecessors, it was fun to watch. I'm the sort of person who dislikes the films where people convert to christianity and become all serious and exalted. Here we see all levels of belief: terrorist intensity with Cyril, political expediency with Orestes and all sorts of gradients in between. Hypatia stays light hearted, her eyes literally fixed on the stars till the end. Her conflicted admirer Davus sinks from being the brightest of her students to following the rioting Christian hordes. He tries to protect her, but not enough to trade his life for hers.

Gratuitous nudity, but that's to be expected. Hypatia is the only female in a world of fighting men. No wonder she avoids hooking up with any of them.