Previous Entry | Next Entry  2. Agora (2009), dir. Alejandro
Amenábar  Leptis Magna theatre I meant to see this when it came
out, fairly obviously given the buttons of mine which it pushes.
But I was busy, and it wasn't on release for very long, so I
missed the chance. I popped it on my Lovefilm list instead, and
its arrival has now coincided usefully with a time when I'm busy
thinking about biopics in the context of my research.  As a
female biopic, it follows a quite different template from the
more conventional one exemplified by the Marilyn Monroe film I
saw last week, in that for most of the film there is no conflict
between Hypatia's public life and intellectual achievements and
her personal life. She finds complete fulfilment in her work on
astronomy, her harmonious relationship with her students and
father, and her role as semi-official advisor to the prefect
Orestes, while the men around her grumble about this
occasionally, but in general are happy to leave her to it.
Given how little we really know