fiction better than reality; the mindset of Rome

Rating: 10/10 (1 February 2001)

*Warning: spoilers.
Recently, a kind person out there notified me of an historical mistake in my previous commentary, pointing out to me that it was Lucius Verus who co-ruled with Marcus Aurelius (Richard Harris' character in the film) and not Commodus (Joaquin Phoenix). I have to thank that person, because to be honest, I have not read much about the later years of the Roman Empire in many years, and had forgotten many details concerning the end of the Pax Romana. Nonetheless, and I may be wrong about this as it comes off the top of my head, I do believe that Marcus Aurelius did in fact approve of the choice of his son Commodus, which was not the case in "Gladiator". But I have to say, in this matter, I prefer the fictional account of the events over the reality. And to me, "Gladiator" does capture the essence of a broader Roman history in microcosm. In particular I found it strikingly interesting that at one of the gladiating tournaments in the film, the commentator spoke of the ancient Roman enemy of mighty Carthage as something out of "hallowed antiquity"... it seems unbelievable to imagine that the Roman empire lasted nearly a thousand years, and its citizens would probably have never been able to imagine it ending (doesn't it LOOK in the film as though the colosseum was built to last forever? And they do call Rome "the Eternal City", after all) or that a dark age would follow, with a thousand more years of ignorance and illiteracy until our modern age. It's hard to imagine that by the time in which "Gladiator" takes place, the Punic wars against Carthage which they use to stage gladiator battles in "Gladiator" had been over for around four hundred years! It kind of puts it into perspective how short-lived our own modern era is thus far. And just how long will we prosper before our "empire" begins to decline? When I think of this and put myself in Marcus Aurelius' shoes, who, in "Gladiator", could foresee that under his son Commodus, the empire would be heading into disaster (it IS nice to think that Marcus Aurelius would have foreseen this), I can understand why he was so determined to choose Maximus as his successor in order to return Rome to a republic (arguably something better). "Gladiator" is on one level a satisfying film because it not only asks what might have been possible to save the Roman Empire from collapsing but tempts us with a possible answer! As it turned out, nothing could save Rome; though the strength of Maximus' character is such that you begin to believe that he can save Rome from itself. To sum it up: if you enjoy a thought-provoking film that will leave you with more questions long after the film is over, you'll enjoy "Gladiator".