Agora (2009)

Directed by

Alejandro Amenábar

Genre

biographical film, historical drama, sword-and-sandal film, historical film

Country

Spain

Runtime

2h 06m

Rated

PG-13

Rating

7.0 of 10 from 1,570 voters

Elsewhere

IMDb

How it feels

In 4th century Roman Egypt, the philosopher and astronomer Hypatia studies the heavens while her city of Alexandria descends into violent religious conflict. She tries to protect the ancient library's knowledge from destruction as political and fanatical forces close in around her.

tragicintellectualtensestirringreflectivesoberingatmosphericaustere

What happens

Agora (Spanish: Ágora) is a 2009 English-language Spanish historical drama film directed by Alejandro Amenábar and written by Amenábar and Mateo Gil. 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 model, and the heliocentric model that challenges it. Surrounded by religious turmoil and social unrest, Hypatia struggles to save the knowledge of classical antiquity from destruction. Max Minghella co-stars as Davus, Hypatia's father's slave, and Oscar Isaac as Hypatia's student, and later prefect of Egypt, Orestes. 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. The title of the film takes its name from the agora, a public gathering place in ancient Greece, similar to the Roman forum. The film was produced by Fernando Bovaira and shot on the island of Malta from March to June 2008. Justin Pollard, co-author of The Rise and Fall of Alexandria (2007), was the historical adviser for the film. Agora was included in the official selection at the 2009 Cannes Film Festival, but screened out of competition. It opened in Spain on 9 October 2009 becoming the highest-grossing film of the year for that country. Although the film had difficulty finding distribution, it was released country by country throughout late 2009 and early 2010. The film received a 53% overall approval rating from Rotten Tomatoes and seven Goya Awards in Spain, including Best Original Screenplay. It was awarded the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation Feature Film Prize at the Hamptons International Film Festival. (from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA)

Trailer

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