Mari+Carmen+(Agora)

//ÁGORA//
This Spanish film ( costing around fifty million euros, a blockbuster) recreates the figure of Hypatia of Alexandria, a Greek astronomer, philosopher and mathematician who lived in the IV century AD. This woman spread the Greek culture in Alexandria and her name has passed into history of these disciplines. Little is known about Hypatia, which has allowed Alejandro Amenábar some freedom in the script for his film. For example, what is known is that her father was Theon of Alexandria, a professor of mathematics and astronomy that was born around AD 335 and died probably in 405. Hypatia, therefore, could be born around 360 AD in Alexandria, the city where her father taught. The film is set in Alexandria, Egypt, 391 AD and tells the story of the creation of a secular martyr, who apparently tried to keep the flame of independence and wisdom after the Christians (a religion on the rise in the Alexandria of the late fourth century) destroyed its library. Her sacrifice was a model of tolerance and free thought. The director of "The Sea Inside," an atheist, wants in "Agora" to denounce religious extremism, and does so precisely through some Christians who practiced it for centuries. One attraction of the film is a recreation of the famous Royal Library of Alexandria (The Serapeum). It gathered more than seven hundred thousand volumes. It existed from the time Ptolemy worked there. At the beginning of the film we see a young Hypatia teaching a group of students, Christians and pagans in this library. Some of her students, who belonged to the aristocratic classes, came to occupy positions in society. The film assumes that two of her students were in love with her. One is Orestes, an historical figure who was the prefect of Alexandria. The other, her slave, converts to Christianity (he is, likely, an invention of the director). around AD 391. The film, realistically, shows how the Library was sached, with Hypatia and her students trying to save from destruction the great works of classical Greek. Political and religious intrigue and large mass movements contrast with the tranquil search of the ellipse by the protagonist. Hypatia is looking to explain the movements of the planets, as the Ptolemaic's system could not explain the organization of celestial bodies with the circle. Hypatia's friendship with Orestes, who was supposed to be advising for him, was bad seen by Christians. Moreover, Hypatia never accepted the conversion to Christianity, arguing freedom of thought. Her knowledge of astrology, also gave her a certain reputation of being a witch. As a result, Hypatia was murdered in 415 AD by a violent group of Alexandrian.
 * Director: ** [|Alejandro Amenábar] . ** Country: ** [|España] . **Production y** ear: 2009. ** Runtime: ** 126 min. ** Genre: ** [|Drama], [|historic] film. ** Cast: ** [|Rachel Weisz] (Hipatia), [|Max Minghella] (Davo), [|Oscar Isaac] (Orestes), Ashaf Barhom (Amonio), Michael Lonsdale (Teón), Rupert Evans (Sinesio), Homayoun Ershadi (Aspasio), Omar Mostafa (Isidoro), Oshri Cohen (Medoro), Sammy Samir (Cirilo), Richard Durden (Olimpio), Yousef Sweid (Pedro). ** Scriptwriters: ** Alejandro Amenábar y Mateo Gil. ** Productors: ** Fernando Bovaira y Álvaro Augustin. ** Music: ** Dario Marianelli.  ** Premiere in Spain: ** October, [|9th] 2009.

In my opinion, Amenábar wants to cover too much in a short time. Despite the ups and downs of the story, it does not cause boredom in the viewer and has fragments of interest. Above all, this is a film that speachs about the intolerance of all those who defend their ideas with violence. In this sense, Hypatia of Amenabar, is a model of tolerance and an exemplary teacher.