Agora

I had just finished watching a movie. a very serious one at that. caused me a bit dizziness after spending 2 hours watching it.

it's entitled Agora [read here for more info] - a Spanish film. but the language used in the movie is all in English, so no, u don't have to speak la Spaniard in order to understand it.

what is the movie about? aside from the killings between the pagans, christians and jews and how much they hate each other? it tells a fictionalized history of a renowned [real life] female philosoper, matemathician, scientist [n all the other great stuff] named Hypatia. She was basically a pagan philosopher in Alexandria. Due to the Christianization of Alexandria during the 4th century Roman Egypt, lots of clashes between religions began.

the character Hyptia was basically stuck in between. you see, she was famous. she taught classes at Alexandria's highest educational institution and most of her disciples - pagans, jews or christians - respected the hell out of her. this caused certain conflicts concerning the governmental affairs and people began blaming her of having influences over their leaders.

well, she couldn't possibily help it. she was their TEACHER, after all...

so, this one group of mobs, who was sick of having her meddling around their leaders, assasinated her by skinning her off alive. her remains were cut off and burn in public.

but no worries, her death in the movie is not as horrific as historically reported.

Rachel Weisz [as you may knew her from The Mummy films] starred as Hypatia. elegant, graceful acting...

Hypatia

teaching in a class of future leaders

researching with her father, also a famous academician

saving the scrolls as the mobs began attacking the Great Library of Alexandria

speaking out in a government council amids tens of dignitaries 

[which apparently 'erred' other people]

being trapped among mobs [who would eventually kill her]

my favourite part of this character? i love to see such an intelligent female character being infatuated and terribily obsessed with... jeng,jeng,jeng... knowledge. she rejected love from possible suitors to retain her independence to learn.in the movie, there were more scenes of which Hypatia was stuck with books and scientific experiments rather than with men. 

And of course, what a movie wouldn't be a movie without at least one pleasing eye-candy... so we have the character of Davus, Hypatia's slave who converted to Christianity for freedom, played by Max Minghella.  He had an unrequited love for his mistress but left her side as the Christians and pagans continued to clash. She later freed him.

At the end of the movie, he suffocated her to death with her consent as he wanted to spare her the suffering of being stoned and tortured by [again d very fucked up, irrational n stupid] mobs. 

Davus, i have to say, is the most transformational character in the film. from the very obedient and timid young slave, he joined the rank of the Christians after gaining his freedom as a bodyguard, where he grew rougher and hoarser. from serving loyally to his mistress, he began killing people. sad. since all that he wanted was not actually freedom - it was Hyptia's love.

my favourite scene of his has to be when he secretly prayed helplessly to his Christian lord - "please let no one else have her." he was still a slave at that moment of time, therefore, confessing love to your mistress was not acceptable at all. upon seeing his mistress being courted by her wealthy student, Davus had no one else to turn to but God.

applies to each and everyone of us. remember that crush or one-sided love of yours? have to keep it secret, right? so who else would we pray of the feelings but to God...

so yes, i guess rejection does drive a man crazy. 

 Davus, still very much innocently looking

still innocent

n BANG! now u have one angry former slave and mob...

aside from that, we also have Orestes and Synesius, Hyptia's students-turned-governor of Alexandria and bishop respectively. Hyptia's influence over these two caused her the most trouble. Since Hypatia was pretty much governed by reason in teaching Orestes, it caused a friction between him and the extremist Cyril of Alexanria, another powerful figure and bishop. 

Orestes, the newly appointed Governor of Alexandria

[he was more of a secular ruler, refused to be an extremist and

fundamentalist in ruling Alexandria]

Synesius, who became a powerful bishop

[in real life, he was Hypatia's favourite student, retaining correspondence

until his death - n isn't he the cutest character here? hehe..]

Cyril, the bishop who seemed to favour killing anyone

he disliked in the movie...

so what did the citizens do to end the friction? well, destroy the source of it, of course... 

really pissed me off seeing these intellectual and thinking people being blamed and killed for being... well, clever and reasoned and moderate.

the wars and killings in the movie really ticked me off, in a positive way, of course. the cinematography is believable. lots of heads and body parts lying around in blood. really gore, i have to say. i could feel the fear that Hypatia was going through as the clashes began - how people began running around, causing chaos and killing people and destroying books... 

[but seriously, did they have to go that far in ripping apart and destroying all them books? they're just books, for God's sake. i could well understand if you want to attack the army barracks to make your point but attacking a library...?] 

the film also depicts killings of people from other religions just because they believed that they were sinners. really, wtf? can't they just leave each other in peace? then perhaps people wouldn't die as much as they were... 

the moral of the story of the film is that people should really accept and tolerate and respect other people's religions notwithstanding what they are. who are you to decide whether he is going to heaven or hell? you're not an angel, devil or God... so who are you to decide? 

i have really serious problems with people who deemed themselves a know-it-all. no, just because he/she appears to be more religious, obedient, proper - that doesn't mean you're going to heaven for sure and that certainly doesn't mean that he/she has the license to condemn how other people should live just because he/she deems that they are spiritually inferior...

yes, you can complain of people being rude, bad, outrageous, evil, wrong but no, you can never question their love for God. because i believe that such matter is only known between God and that person himself/herself. 

man, i sound bitter, but yes, this is my exact sentiment. people could never measure one's faith for definite. those who appear to be lost from the outside perhaps hide a secret yet great love for God deep inside their hearts. truth is that, we can never know.. 

anyway, this is a cool movie, especially for nerds like me who are into history an ancient civilizations and, to some extent, feminism... besides, the war seemed almost real...

Ruby Jusoh is bidding everyone a blessed Maulidur Rasul. Indeed, Prophet Muhammad SAW was one great symbol of tolerance and acceptance. He didn't go around killing people of other religions during his time - instead, he welcomed them with open hands and encouraged exploration of knowledge notwithstanding gender, background or status... 

Mahatma Gandhi once said: "I wanted to know the best of the life of one who holds today an undisputed sway over the hearts of millions of mankind.... I became more than ever convinced that it was not the sword that won a place for Islam in those days in the scheme of life. It was the rigid simplicity, the utter self-effacement of the Prophet the scrupulous regard for pledges, his intense devotion to his friends and followers, his intrepidity, his fearlessness, his absolute trust in God and in his own mission. These and not the sword carried everything before them and surmounted every obstacle. When I closed the second volume (of the Prophet's biography), I was sorry there was not more for me to read of that great life"

now only if people would really follow the Prophet's examples...