Had to rewatch to review for my class. I really enjoyed this again, I find that the idea of it seems absolutely absurd but it works and is actually super entertaining and funny. Hiroshi Abe is such a good casting choice as he literally looks like a Roman.
The film takes a super interesting approach to showing a depiction of Rome that is almost never shown in Western media. If this were a Western film it undoubtedly would’ve portrayed Hadrian as the villain and an evil man. I think this portrayal where the Emperor is a good man and that all of the efforts for improvement are for him (Lucius doing all he can to ensure Hadrian gets deified and to prevent the possibility that he is seen as a fool in the future) is likely more accurate to how Ancient Romans actually felt and could only come from an Eastern perspective (especially from a culture that historically had emperors). Furthermore, there is some really interesting conversation on the similarities between Ancient Roman society and more modern Japanese society, drawing a connection that I rarely would’ve thought of. Both societies place a heavy emphasis on the importance of relaxation, hence their large bathing cultures. Hell, it even saved the entire empire, with Lucius’s adoption of the geothermal hot spring baths leading to Hadrians prevention of a rebellion.
Overall, the film raises some really interesting points about how Ancient Romans actually felt about their emperor and about the reason that Western depictions of Ancient Rome typically paint the Emperor as the villain. It’s funny how most Western depictions are all about showing what people think Rome should be, not what it actually was. In Western media, the idea of Rome has become almost a completely separate thing from Ancient Rome itself and when people go to see a movie about Ancient Rome they want to see their idea of Rome and not actual Rome.
A really interesting film for a number of reasons, but also just an entirely hilarious and super creative story. Definitely went up for me on rewatch.
Had to rewatch to review for my class. I really enjoyed this again, I find that the idea of it seems absolutely absurd but it works and is actually super entertaining and funny. Hiroshi Abe is such a good casting choice as he literally looks like a Roman.
The film takes a super interesting approach to showing a depiction of Rome that is almost never shown in Western media. If this were a Western film it undoubtedly would’ve portrayed Hadrian as the villain and an evil man. I think this portrayal where the Emperor is a good man and that all of the efforts for improvement are for him (Lucius doing all he can to ensure Hadrian gets deified and to prevent the possibility that he is seen as a fool in the future) is likely more accurate to how Ancient Romans actually felt and could only come from an Eastern perspective (especially from a culture that historically had emperors). Furthermore, there is some really interesting conversation on the similarities between Ancient Roman society and more modern Japanese society, drawing a connection that I rarely would’ve thought of. Both societies place a heavy emphasis on the importance of relaxation, hence their large bathing cultures. Hell, it even saved the entire empire, with Lucius’s adoption of the geothermal hot spring baths leading to Hadrians prevention of a rebellion.
Overall, the film raises some really interesting points about how Ancient Romans actually felt about their emperor and about the reason that Western depictions of Ancient Rome typically paint the Emperor as the villain. It’s funny how most Western depictions are all about showing what people think Rome should be, not what it actually was. In Western media, the idea of Rome has become almost a completely separate thing from Ancient Rome itself and when people go to see a movie about Ancient Rome they want to see their idea of Rome and not actual Rome.
A really interesting film for a number of reasons, but also just an entirely hilarious and super creative story. Definitely went up for me on rewatch.
