Agora: Circles upon Circles
In one of the early scenes of 'Agora', a slave presents a wooden Ptolemy's model of the solar system (the one in which the first seven planets move in circles, which centers, in their turn, revolve around Earth). This exhibition is accompanied by a comment of 'circles upon circles' - words which stayed with me throughout the film.
While one of the plots concerns about Hypatia's search for some key for a better understanding of the world in general and a more simple solar model in particular, the other shows Christianity's raise to power. From an oppressed minority, whose worshipers where thrown to the lions in times remembered by many citizens of Alexandria, it comes to be one of the two legal religions aside of Judaism, and the stronger, more aggressive of the pair. The wheel turned half a circle, those who previously enjoyed good fortune and lived safe lives, now have to fear the morality police; what was a religion of slaves becomes the strongest political force. This pattern of reversing the situation occurs also on lower levels, when one character's future lies in the hands of another.
People torn by choices between being true to yourself and asserting your future, weighting the affairs of the state against the good interest of private good interests, impossible loves, the looming fatum of a knowon ending - these are elements of a good tragedy. Unfortunately, something is missing and 'Agora' is not really a good film. Technically, it's the level Hollywood got us used to; the bad part is, that everything has a feeling of being done strictly by the book. Although I liked the portrayal of Alexandria as a living city, there's absolutely nothing original to it. The music seems like a score re-used for most of productions of last decade, the story doesn't get off it's straight track (it's a tragedy after all). Even all the little details are archetypical in their nature, and when the director wants to make a point, he does it by using the most used solutions.
Nice to watch, but got me commenting and predicting the future - a very bad sign, proving boredom.