Ryan McNeil
I’m a glass-half-full sort of guy. I like to believe the humanity has hope, and that over the course of our history we have all come a very long way towards a better global understanding. Then I watched AGORA…and realized that we haven’t come very far at all.
AGORA is the story of the city of Alexandria in 4th century. As our story begins, the city is populated by pagans, Jews, and growing ranks of the budding faith of Christianity. In the city’s library, a philosopher named Hypatia (Rachel Weisz) teaches science in the library. Her students include Orestes (Oscar Isaac), her brother who actually has romantic interests for his sister. Likewise, she teaches Synesius (Rupert Evans), a pagan student who has recently embraced Christianity.
Standing off to the side is Davus (Max Minghella), Hypatia’s slave who is also crushing on her – guess how much hope that relationship has. When the growing ranks of Christians in the city insult the pagans, civil unrest breaks out leading to riots and slaughter. When the Roman Emperor sends a ruling in favour of The Christians, it forces all pagans to flee, hands the library its destruction, and scatters Davus, Hypatia, Orestes, and Synesius in all directions.
Years later, they all find themselves back in Alexandria, but in different capacities. Hypatia is still studying her sciences – flying in the face of religious doctrine – though she’s now doing it far less publicly. Orestes is now the Roaman prefect, and must do what he can to quell the growing tensions between the pagans, Jews, and the ever-rising ranks of Christians. Personal convictions get challenged time after time, and before long each one of these four characters must make tough choices surrounding their beliefs, their allegiances, and each other.
What’s amazing about the story of Alexandria is the way it has been echoed throughout our history. Time after time, people of different backgrounds will try to coexist geographically, and sadly time after time, they come up empty and angry. In many ways the story of AGORA could be told in Gaza or Belfast.
Rachel Weisz is the only recognizable face in this film, and she is very well suited to the character. She has a certain poise, and tone to her voice, that gives her an air of understanding. She embodies a very rare type of person – the sort who might disagree with your point of view, but has too much respect for you to call you a heretic and force her beliefs on you.
AGORA poses some tough questions about faith, philosophy, and politics. Orestes embodies difficulties that still face our elected leaders today, since he struggles with how he can possibly be a just ruler of Alexandria, and still appear to all involved as a devout Christian. Where he struggles the most is where many people today still do: what is one to do when the literal text of an ancient gospel contradicts humanity? In Orestes case, he’s fighting an uphill battle to explain that a 400 year old Christian doctrine is outdated. What chance does anyone have today with that same doctrine being 2000 years old?
While the film gets a little heavy-handed in it’s obvious messages about atrocities committed in God’s name, it’s worth watching for the way the core characters of Hypatia, Orestes, Synesius, and Davus struggle with the nature of blind faith. Hypatis taught them all, and though their beliefs changed with age, what sticks with them is her stance of never ceasing to ask questions. Our questions might fly in the face of seemingly unchallengeable fact, but they must still be asked.
Our laws, our sciences, and indeed our religions might tell us in no uncertain terms what is right and wrong. However, the variable in all of it, is that law, science, and religion are all human studies…and thus, completely fallible. Throughout human history – indeed since the days of Alexandria – leaders in religion, sciences, and the law have given us reason after reason to exclude, to mislead, and to fear. What AGORA seems to be prompting us to remember, is that time after time these lessons have been wrong, and that we need to make up out own minds before blindly kneeling, accepting, and following.