Good Lord, some director with a Latino name (and Hollywood sure has a crush on those) has decided to take a break from quirky sex dramas* and try his hand at historical movie-making. Considering Guillermo del Toro's Communist Manifesto-bashing (can't use a Bible) take on the Spanish Civil War in his fantasy crap, I find that asking for historical accuracy, or even borderline historical fairness, is too much to ask for. Still, it is maddening to encounter the lack of these things in "history" films.
So, here enters Alejandro Amenabar's "Agora", ostensibly a story about the murdered fifth century Neo-platonist philosopher Hypatia of Alexandria. The problem is, it's not a story about Hypatia, but about a Frankenstein monster created by Enlightenment prejudices. The actual Hypatia checks many the politically-correct boxes: female, philosopher, scientist. But the monster Hypatia has other attributes. She was "outspoken" and "was a pagan martyred for SCIENCE! By Christians!"
It doesn't matter that Hypatia was far more likely killed because she was involved in a factional fight between Christians. The fact that she might even be Christian herself escapes the notice of these Hollywood idiots. Like the Enlightenment fools who preceded them, they won't let hard facts get in the way of a good narrative.
*Yes, every Hollywood director with a Latin or Spanish name is Pedro Almodovar to me. I'm sure they wouldn't mind the stereotype. They spend enough time manufacturing them.
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