Agora
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Agora

Year:
Duration:
127 min | France:141 min (Cannes Film Festival)
Genres:
Adventure | Drama | History | Romance
IMDB rate:
7.2
Director:
Alejandro Amenábar
Awards:
11 wins & 14 nominations
Details
Country: Spain
Release Date: 2009-10-09
Filming Locations: Delimara, Malta
Earnings
Budget: $70,000,000
Opening Weekend: $44,313 (USA) (30 May 2010)
Gross: $617,840 (USA) (17 October 2010)
Cast
Actor
Character
Rachel Weisz
Hypatia
Max Minghella
Davus
Oscar Isaac
Orestes
Michael Lonsdale
Theon
Rupert Evans
Synesius
Homayoun Ershadi
Aspasius
Sami Samir
Cyril
Richard Durden
Olympius
Omar Mostafa
Isidorus
Manuel Cauchi
Theophilus
Oshri Cohen
Medorus
Charles Thake
Hesiquius
Harry Borg
Prefect Evragius
Yousef 'Joe' Sweid
Peter (as Yousef Sweid)
Clint Dyer
Hierax-Parabolano
Sam Cox
Pagan Rival
George Harris
Heladius Dignitary
Sylvester Morand
Dignitary
Paul Barnes
Dignitary
Amber Rose Revah
Sidonia
Jordan Kiziuk
Hypatia's Disciple
Francis Ghersci
Hypatia's Disciple
Jonathan Grima
Hypatia's Disciple
Edward Caruana Galizia
Student
Christopher Dingli
Student
Stephen Buhagiar
Parabalano
Joseph Camilleri
Parabolano
Charles Sammut
Philosopher
Michael Sciortino
Philosopher
Joe Quattromani
Old Philosopher
Alan Meadows
Rabbi
Peter Borg
Pagan Priest
Portelli Paul
Troublemaker (as Paul Portelli)
Robert Ricards
Roman Officer (as Rob Ricards)
Alan Paris
Bodyguard
John Montanaro
Bodyguard
Malcolm Ellul
Bodyguard
Ray Mangion
Crier via Canopica
Mary Rose Bonello
Old Jewish Woman
Andre Agius
Child
Frederick Testa
Christian
Sean Buhagiar
Christian Student
Theresa Celia
Christian Woman (as Theresa Cilia)
Frank Tanti
Deacon
Anthony Ellul
Deacon
Pierre Stafrace
Deacon
Christopher Raikes
Frightened Hellenic Man
Clare Agius
Frightened Hellenic Woman
Mario Camilleri
Alarmed Neighbour
Wesley Ellul
Guard
John Marinelli
Guard
Simon Cormi
Informer (as Simon Curmi)
Peter Galea
Roman Officer
Nikovich Sammut
Roman Officer
Ronnie Galea
Ship's Captain
David Ellul-Mercer
Slave (as David Ellul)
Philip Mizzi
Surgeon (as Phillip Mizzi)
Alan Azzopardi
Suspicious Jew
Polly March
Woman with Figs
Joe Pace
Stallkeeper
John Suda
Customer
Michael Tabone
Rabbi
Angele Galea
Charition
Malcolm Galea
Charition's Brother
Paul Celia
Indian King (as Paul Cilia)
Jean-Pierre Agius
Clown (as Jean Pierre Agius)
Samuel Montague
Crier (as Sam Montague)
Marieclaire Camilleri
Jewish Girl (uncredited)
Guilherme de Franco
Roman Officer (uncredited)
Jovan Pisani
Drunken Indian (uncredited)
Juan Serrano
Dead Jew (uncredited)
Novica Todorovic
Parabalano Fighter (uncredited)
Did you know?
Trivia
There were days when shooting had to delay for a few seconds. This was because of the nearby churches of Kalkara, Vittoriosa amongst others which have their bells obviously ringing at mid-noon. These bells have been in use for decades. The bells could be heard from the sets of Ricasoli.
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The set was built on the exact same spot (Fort Ricasoli, Malta) where the Coliseum was built for Gladiator (2000). The fort was also used for Caesar (2002), Helen of Troy (2003) and Troy (2004).
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Originally, Alejandro Amenábar wanted Rachel Weisz, Sacha Baron Cohen and Jonathan Rhys Meyers to appear in the film. After reading the screenplay, Weisz did accept the part of Hypatia, however, Baron Cohen turned it down declaring that it was "too prickly, and it would lift sores".
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Goofs
The film depicts Bishop Synesius condemning Hypatia's works and refusing to support her before severing all connection with her. In reality, like many contemporary Christian scholars, he defended her scientific reputation and maintained correspondence with her that remains the only contemporary account of her life and influence, and far from Synesius abandoning her, she refused to reply to any of his letters praising her for reasons she never disclosed to him.
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The military outfit of roman soldiers in the movie is anachronistic. In those years Roman soldiers looked quite different.
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A pharaoh hound is shown twice. Despite the name, this dog is not native to Egypt but to Malta (where the film was shot) and was first identified in 1647, not the period of the film.
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Quotes
Davus: I was forgiven but now I can't forgive.
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Hypatia: [Looks up at night sky] If I could just unravel this just a little bit more, and just get a little closer to the answer, then... Then I would go to my grave a happy woman.
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Hypatia: Ever since Plato, all of them - Aristarchus, Hipparchus, Ptolemy - they have all, all, all tried to reconcile their observations with circular orbits. But what if another shape is hiding in the heavens?
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Faq
Q
How does the movie end?
A
Orestes (Oscar Isaac) attempts to warn Hypatia about the accusations Cyril (Sami Samir) has raised against her, accusations of 'ungodliness' and 'witchcraft,' but Hypatia refuses to be publically baptized and give up her right to independent thought. As she is walking in the agora, she is apprehended by the parabolani and taken away. Davus (Max Minghella) follows but can do nothing to stop them from defiling her in public and calling her names like 'witch' and 'whore.' The parabolani strip her naked and suggest flaying her skin with their knives. Trying to stop them, Davus advises them not to stain their hands with impure blood, so they decide to stone her instead. When the parabolani go off to find stones, Davus takes Hypatia in his arms, sobbing because of his love for her while smothering her with his hand. The last thing Hypatia sees is the blue sky through a circle in the roof, which appears as an ellips from her point of view. By the time the parabolani return with their stones, Hypatia is dead. Davus tells them that she has fainted, and they proceed to pelt her. In the final scene, the camera pans upwards into the sky, and a caption reads: 'Hypatia's mutilated body was dragged through the streets and burnt on a pyre. Orestes disappeared, never to be seen again. Cyril seized power of Alexandra. Much later, Cyril was declared a saint and doctor of the Church. Although none of Hypatia's works have survived, it is known that she was an outstanding astronomer and renowned for her mathematical studies on conic curves. 1200 years later, in the 17th century, the astronomer Johannes Kepler discovered that one of these curves, the ellipse, governs the motion of the planets.'
Q
On what was Hypatia's view of the world based?
A
According to the movie, she first believed the geocentric theory of Ptolemy [@90 CE - 168 CE] that the sun and the wandering planets revolved around the earth in a perfect circle. Near the end of the movie, however, she was coming to the conclusion that the earth might also be a wanderer around a heliocentric sun, an idea that was first expressed some 600 years earlier by the Greek astronomer Aristarchus [@310 BCE - 230 BCE] but wasn't put forth again until the 1400s by the Prussian astronomer Copernicus [1473-1543]. Hypatia also postulates the possibility of Earth's orbit around the Sun being elliptical rather than a perfect circle. This point is reinforced by the final shot where we pull up out of the skylight at the centre of the library and away from the Earth. The last thing we see with any clarity is the skylight, at an angle, forming an ellipse.
Q
How much sex, violence, and profanity are in this movie?
A
For detailed information about the amounts and types of (a) sex and nudity, (b) violence and gore, (c) profanity, (d) alcohol, drugs, and smoking, and (e) frightening and intense scenes in this movie, consult the IMDb Parents Guide for this movie. The Parents Guide for Agora can be found here.
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Photos from cast
Ashraf Barhom
Frog picture for children clipart of a frogs frog drawing with white background frog clipart