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Reviews
Remember Me (2010)
A Reminder
just watched Remember Me for the first time tonight. Going in, I vaguely knew what to expect. I knew what the ending was about, but not who died or what the circumstances were. It was an emotional and powerful film, but a lot of people have criticized the ending as being extraneous and offensive . No one can answer that question, and as uncouth as this sounds - it is what it is, and it is a well made film. Anyway, I just assume a movie with a similar plot to this one was eventually going to be made (how could it not?), and that I'm grateful Remember Me was the first one to do it.
II thought Remember Me brought more than just the controversial emotional ending to the table. All of the sub-plot were emotional evoking and show that it shouldn't just be huge tragedies that unite us, but that we all suffer the same from our personal losses. That the loss of one family member can be even more difficult than a huge tragedy because there are fewer people to empathize with you - or even care enough, to provide support or get over their reservations.
It is probably just a personal experience, but Remember Me reminded me that I'm not the only one that's damaged or lost, but that most people in this world have suffered as much.
Agora (2009)
Agora
I watched Agora by chance on Netflix the other night, and I expected something very different than what I saw. I thought it would be a movie that was like other recent sandal and sword shows and movies, meaning it would offer a shallow story with one-dimensional characters that blathered lame one-liners and wreaked of testosterone.
Very quickly I realized that I was completely wrong. The beginning of Agora sets you up in the beautiful city of Alexandria, a city still occupied by the dwindling Roman Empire, and actually thriving and boasting wonderful architectural achievements. The Library of Alexandria is where the heart of the story lies, and where the philosopher Lady Hypatia teaches her very devoted group of "future leaders". Although it's well known that women were thought of as second class during this time period, the movie does a brilliant job of not portraying Hypatia that way, and I think they're very right for doing so. She was so well respected by the people around her that her gender was never a problem, for a time at least.
The story is about Hypatia's philosophies, her students, and the Christian/Pagan/Jewish struggle. But, it's also a very touching and heart wrenching film, filled with much unrequited love, difficult choices, moments of discovery (in science and relationships), and leaves viewers feeling that so many things went unfair and how things "should have been". The ending is true to the records, but only more devastating as you watch the characters you love fall into devious conspirators.