FILM REVIEW

Have you ever imagined a world with a deep

Friday, 25 November 2022
religious conflict along the mysteries of science
and the difficulty of respecting diversity? That’s
the situation Alejandro Amenábar reveals in
Agora, that are as relevant today as they were
in the fourth century. It is an outstanding movie
with fascinating characters, taking us to an
unique time in history that most of us are
unfamiliar with, but some common biases and
violence that plague Alexandria still exist in
today’s world.

The movie is set in 391 AD, where Alexandria

was part of the Roman Empire. Hypatia, Greek
philosopher and daughter of Theon (head of
Alexandria’s Library), is dedicated to preserve
the wisdom of the ancient world, trying to figure
out the relationship between the wonderers
and the Sun. But, a big problem is happening in
this social landscape, religious conflicts
between Christians, Pagans and Jews are
beginning. As the action takes place, the
Christianity gains more and more power in the
city until it manages to impose its morality and
beliefs, and then women are seen as the
enemy in ‘the name of God’.

Amenábar clearly shows the character’s evolution

throughout the film. First there is Orestes, a
charming young guy, self-assured, and natural
leader with an incredible intelligence. He is a
student of Hypatia, and confesses his love for her,
but then he is refused and understands that she is
devoted to science. Yet another brilliant student
who converted to Christianity, previously Pagan, is
Synesius. He is pleased to hear Hypatia and defend
the rights of all religions and the bond that unites
all people, regardless of their religious beliefs.
Moreover, Davus, a slave of Theon’s household is very influenced by Ammonius, one of the
Parabolani’s leader, in which he finally converted into Christianity. The final character of
note is Cyril, the Christian Bishop of Alexandria, who sees his power in the city increase as
the number of converts to Christianity grows increasingly.

Shocking scenes are reflected in the movie. The destruction of the Library Serepeum is one
the most memorable sequences. The Christians burns countless of scrolls and destroys
works of ancient art, which they ridicule as "pagan trash." This means the destruction and
loss of important knowledge and science caused by intolerance

The camera movement in which it pulls

back from an aerial shot of Alexandria
to the Earth from space plays a
significant role to communicate the
message. Probably, putting the
audience in the position of an absent
god to show us the universal and
timeless nature of the film’s themes. But
not only that, also to represent that the
religious intolerance and faith-inspired
violence are not only the dominion of
the ancient world, but also something
that continues to happen nowadays.

Despite Agora has received critical opinions,

perceived as a negative perspective of
Christianity, it’s needless to think as the
objective of the film. Agora is about a variety
of topics, including Hypatia's quest to discover
the mysteries of heavenly orbits and what
intolerance could cause. But, the main
tragedy, though, is that knowledge is one of
the victims of an ideological conflict

Paula Pinazo & Jiayi Xu