I feel sorry for those dirty little people who toil in the sun brushing away specks of dust off the timeless memories buried in time and earth and for those who bury themselves in books and research to bring to light the Past that has been and a history that won?t fade.
May be these people should take a few history lessons to all the directors who attempt to tell the tales of legends. While we are at it, they should take special classes for SRK for creating a mess called Asoka.
?Alexander, Be Reasonable? shouts one of Alexander?s Generals in a scene in the movie. Truer words were never said. By the time the movie is over we are as conflicted as the director and as conflicted as Alexander was depicted to be. My conflict particularly was why I tolerated this to 3hrs of good sleep.
Yeah, It is that long, talk about Hollywood following Bollywood.
? Was he Homosexual or was he bisexual ?
? Were he and Hephaestion, his longtime friend, lovers or best friends ?
? Was he the son of Zeus, a god or Philip the mortal ?
? Was Olympius his mother, responsible for Philip?s assassination ?
? Was he murdered or did he die of Typhoid ?
? Was he a military genius or a war maniac ?
? Did he love his mother or plain hated her ?
?Did he want to wage wars or not? If you thought you would know the answers to the questions you would be more confused than ever before ?
The movie opens with Alexander?s death in Babylon. Many years later, Ptolemy one of Alexander?s generals played by Anthony Hopkins narrates the story of Alexander.
Young Alexander grows up in the shadow of his malicious mother who is as slimy and slithering as the snakes she pets played with conviction by Angelina Jolie.
His mother and father have utter contempt for each other. When Alexander is 19 ,his father Philip marries a Macedonian princess who bears him a child and Philips calls Alexander Illegitimate which shows us the desperation of the director to prove to us that Alexander was the son of Zeus?.and of Course there are these repeated proclamations by Olympius that Alexander is the son of Zeus.
Philip is assassinated and Alexander is made King.
Though Alexander believes that his mother was behind the assassination he declares a war on Persia for plotting the assassination.
Alexander?s obsessesion with ruling Persia (middle east and Africa before they drifted apart) since childhood is never adequately explained. After winning Babylon he goes on to win the known world.
To us, it seems that Alexander was a visionary who wanted to bring the world under one rule?.namely HIS. He tries to unite the Persians (the movie calls them Barbarians) and the unwilling Macedonians. He even marries a Persian princess and a eastern dancer.
To add to our confusion Hephaestion, his best friend declares that Alexander wanted to get as far away from his imposing mother, so is waging wars. Now, Really????
It is said that Alexander was defeated only once, by Hephaestion thighs. That could mean a number of things. But three fourth of the movie is devoted to validating the point that Alexander was bisexual.
Alexander and Hephaestion hugging dearly, looking into each other?s eyes, Alexander asking Hephaestion to stay with him that night are some scenes. Though they are not seen together intimately, lots of such scenes seem to drive home the point.
Ahh.. Alexander does bed a eunuch and kiss him publicly (?in the movie)
It?s never been proven, even if it was true, Big deal. Why, Macho men can?t be gay?
It?s like a current president?s theory ?Repeated utterances of a lie will render it as the truth??.sadly, it works.
Alexander with his united colors of Benetton army the Persians and the Macedonians moves to conquer the richest of all and that has never been conquered?.INDIA.
This is the part of the movie where I enjoyed the most.
The army is ambushed by little hairy men. Hephaestion to the rescue. He figures out that they are not human but animals and they are called MONKEYS.
I swear, I saw a hairy MAN who looked like a Neanderthal tied up to a tree. I do know for a fact that by the time (320 BC) Alexander attacked India, Indians (2000 BC old civilization) were past that stage of evolution.
A vexed army stretched thin by men lost to sickness and exhaustion stages a mutiny. The revolting generals are put to death, and the army readies to fight the monkey men (Indians) on elephants.
The Indians have painted faces, their hair tied into a knot and a thin turban .The king has the best painted face. I thought, the Indian kings could afford a golden crown bedecked with jewels with all the treasures they had but they looked like the clan of Ekalavya.
Alexander and Hephaestion are wounded, his horse killed. A humbled Alexander starts his journey back home.
Let me honest here, as much as I would love to believe that Alexander was defeated, my History knowledge tells me that PORUS (that?s the name of the Indian king they failed to mention) was defeated by Alexander in spite of his elephant army.
When Alexander asked the defeated Porus how he would like to be treated Porus answers ?like you would like to be treated, like a king?. But they gave this famous line to the Persian princess in the movie. Alexander gives Porus back his kingdom and they became friends.
The mutiny by Alexander?s army was after this battle not before. He was humbled by the wisdom of Indian saints who tell him that no matter how much land you may conquer all you need in the end is six feet under.
The movie even seems to suggest that Alexander killed himself as he promised Hephaestion that he will follow him in his death.
Ptolemy says that Alexander was killed by his generals who couldn?t live up to his ambitions but dictates that history show that Alexander died of sickness.
I found angelina jolie's action better that the rest.It's hard to concentrate on Colin Ferral's action when you are watching his blond wig.
Acting was fair by all. Given it is Oliver Stones' movie,you expect controvorsies,no disappointment there. Camera effects are good,especially picturising Babylon.
War scenes are kind of okay,we have seen them too many times.
The best scene is the face off between Alexander and the Indian king.
