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 Agora 

What grade would you give this film?
A 67%  67%  [ 2 ]
B 33%  33%  [ 1 ]
C 0%  0%  [ 0 ]
D 0%  0%  [ 0 ]
F 0%  0%  [ 0 ]
Total votes : 3

 Agora 
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Post Agora
Agora

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Agora is a 2009 Spanish historical drama film directed by Alejandro Amenábar and written by Amenábar and Mateo Gil. The biopic stars Rachel Weisz as Hypatia, a female mathematician, philosopher and astronomer in 4th century Roman Egypt who investigates the flaws of the geocentric Ptolemaic system 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 slave, and Oscar Isaac as Hypatia's student Orestes, prefect of Alexandria.

The story uses historical fiction to highlight the relationship between religion and science 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 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 advisor for the film.

Agora was screened out of competition at the 2009 Cannes Film Festival in May, and opened in Spain on October 9, 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 55% overall approval rating from Rotten Tomatoes. Agora received seven Goya Awards in Spain, including Best Original Screenplay, and it was awarded the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation Feature Film Prize at the Hamptons International Film Festival.

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Tue May 26, 2009 2:28 am
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Post Re: Agora
Agora is an ambitious and thoughtful historical epic that often gets lost along the way due to the extremity of the ideas it is trying to present. In trying to be both an action-packed romance that pleases the masses and a thoughtful work on astronomy and religion, the film loses its way by the end and the long running time will certainly be felt by the audience. It wants to express so many ideas that the bulk of them end up being ineffective by the end. However, there's a lot to admire here and the film is definitely worth seeing. I was especially impressed by the gorgeous visuals, production design and cinematography, which perfectly bring the time period to life with undeniable flair. I also liked the way the film was split into two parts in a sense, and how the narratives bridged together to address what the film was ultimately trying to say. Rachel Weisz is fantastic here, delivering one of her best performances - and if the film does end up finding distribution anytime soon I wouldn't count out award consideration. She is powerful, commanding and sympathetic as Hypatia - and a great heroine the movie can rally around. The love story angle between her character and two suitors is underdeveloped, but Max Minghella is still solid as a man torn between following his religion and choosing the woman he loves. I can't see this being a massive commercial success due to its talky nature, but it does feature enough action that I could end up being wrong about this one. B


Thu Jun 25, 2009 10:56 am
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Post Re: Agora
9/10 -> A-

The first thing you notice is how lavish the sets are. Everything looks beautiful in this movie. This one looks much pricier than it actually is. If this was done in Hollywood the price tag would probably be triple this...

But lets get back to the movie. Its weakest aspect is the story. It needed slightly more work. I didn't really like how there are two parts and when the first act ends you get a short prologue for the next part. It felt completely out of place and like they edited a two part mini series or something into one movie...

But everything else clicks perfectly. It might not be the most historically correct view of the times it's set in and the characters it portraits, but I feel like it represents its ideas and beliefs very faithfully. The cinematography is great, Amenabar knows what he's doing, there are some great edits in this one and the acting is great, especially wonderful Weisz.

There are a lot of little things in the movie which I've appreciated a lot and it elevates this movie among similar recent (blockbuster-y) fare. Amenaba should work more. I like his work very much and Agora just continues the streak...


Mon Apr 18, 2011 9:06 am
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Post Re: Agora
I believe it is great, too.

It is 100-percent beautiful in terms of costumes, production design, etc. And Rachel Weisz delivers a very elegant performance.

It is a blunt and persuasive exploration of how toxic religion can be. How it can lead a population away from reason and towards dangerous lunacy. A very brave notion, and I assume this is why it was given such a low-profile theatrical release in America.

Amenábar, whose others phenomenal credit include The Others and The Sea Inside, is one of my favorite directors.

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Last edited by David on Sun Apr 27, 2014 1:55 am, edited 1 time in total.



Mon Apr 18, 2011 5:43 pm
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Post Re: Agora
I loved how the classical story of science vs. religion was put in a different spin by having two (three) religions at war... The movie is a great showcase for how any blind belief is dangerous and destructive.


Mon Apr 18, 2011 6:34 pm
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Post Re: Agora
This is a profoundly undervalued film. One of the best of recent years. I always recommend it to people or even loan them the DVD. So few have heard of it, at least stateside.

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Sun Apr 27, 2014 1:59 am
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Post Re: Agora
I wasn't a big fan.

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