08 January 2011

Marketplace of ideas

Agora

(2009)
I'm a sucker for Roman Empire stuff, I'm a sucker for Rachel Weisz, I'm a sucker for proto-Copernican astronomy (well, OK, not really so much), but this is just a mess. Late-4th-century Alexandria, and the Christians, not far removed from underdog status, are now bloodthirsty, book-burning misogynists (no comment). Hypatia is a brilliant atheistic philosopher trying to puzzle out the mysteries of the small-h heavens. And maybe it's a brilliant wedding of structure and subject that director Alejandro Amenábar can't seem to figure out which story should be revolving around the other, and whether that orbit should be circular or parabolic, but chaos seems to have been the clockmaker.

Oh, and also two men are (duh!) madly in love with Hypatia, including her slave, but her philo is reserved for sophia. I wanted to like it, I tried to like it, but I guess it just wasn't in the stars.

2 comments:

Dr. Debs said...

but Proto-Copernican astronomy ROCKS! :)

Jennie Tonic said...

I looked back at my comments after seeing it, and I enjoyed it, although I found it melodramatic & had some problems with it. Still, on a philosophical basis, it's no Man for All Seasons.