Agora

I had a few hours of discretion this afternoon before heading to the ballet. I will be in Elora for the weekend so decided to use my time to see a movie in the neighborhood. This is the time of year when you have to search far and wide to see a decent film. Following the Toronto Film Festival in September the new worthwhile films begin to be distributed.

This story is most compelling. The film itself left much to be desired.

The story begins in 391 AD in the library in Alexandria. Hypatia ( Rachel Weisz) is a pagan philosopher and astronomer. She teaches the slaves and constantly questions the workings of the world. This would have been sufficient for a compelling story.

The Christians are trying to take over and convert the pagans. This makes for some terrible bloody clashes. Thousands of the Christians bombard the library and take over. The Jews also present a problem for the Christians.

Everybody seems to be fighting one another. It just becomes too much and even gets confusing at times.

Hypatia was a kind intelligent teacher. Two of her slaves are fond of her and try to help her when the political problems are overwhelming. I almost left when I heard her tormentors talk about skinning her alive. As it was she was stoned to death.

The most fascinating part was the prologue that stated that her studies was discovered 1200 years later in the 17^th century and she became known as a wise and knowledgeable astronomer and philosopher. I think I would have preferred just to read about it.

The market scenes were well filmed. I liked to see the crowded streets with casts of thousands. It is always fascinating to look at the costumes of the day. Rachel Weisz plays her part convincingly but all of that was not enough to make this an excellent film.