troy

Troy is probably one of the best epic movies made. It inspired many epic movies at that time, that too many epic movies were made and people just got sick of watching sun-burnt dirty-looking muscled actors running around and pretending to kill each other. But undeniably, Troy still deserves recognition for how well it was made. However, I am not sure if the makers of the movie Troy deserve praise for the story.

For me, there was too much going on, and all of the things happening were given importance. Perhaps it was necessary, perhaps not. But the story opens with Paris, a Trojan prince, convincing Helen, queen of Sparta, to elope to Troy. When Menelaus, Helen’s husband, finds out, he asks his brother Agamemnon for help in getting her back. Agamemnon sees this as a chance to grab more power so he agrees and they decide to attack Troy with a huge army, including Achilles: a sensational fighter. Then sometime during one of the many battles, Hector, Paris’s older brother, kills Achilles’ cousin. Achilles challenges Hector that they fight to death. Hector lost and died and Achilles dragged his body around, for all to see. Hector’s father secretly speaks to Achilles and asks for his son’s body back. So while the Trojans gave the proper burial rites to their prince, the Greeks built a huge horse, and filled it with Greek soldiers. The Trojans merely took it as an offering, so they took the horse in through their impenetrable walls and out came the Greek soldiers. And while all of that was going on, Achilles was developing romantic feelings for Hector’s cousin.

For me, there was too much going on in the movie that people are no longer able to focus on one single thing. I think, people did not have time to reflect, nor process or internalize anything, nor concentrate on many core values (that could have been given focus on) because viewers were too preoccupied. The film (in terms of cinematography) was, undoubtedly, visually stunning. Aside form this; there was too much going on with the story. The film makers changed the view point; they might as well have zoomed in on a particular thread. When the movie ended, it was hard to tell what you were feelings. Not because your emotions were stirred, but because there was nothing there. Although there was some foreshadowing in the defeat of Hector with the fall of Troy, to me, it was, in many ways, a typical generic Hollywood great. The film succeeded in stimulating the senses, but failed miserably in stimulating the mind and moving the heart.

But I also think that it is always up to the viewer to make the most out of a particular movie. So if there is one thing I would like to focus on, it would be the dance of the strengths and weaknesses of the characters. I think that all of the characters were portrayed both ways: weak and strong. Take for example; Achilles’ love was his weakness. His character was insatiable, unhappy and it seemed he felt life was meaningless. When he fell in love with Hector’s cousin, he changed. He began to look forward to something else other than killing soldiers or being angry at people and distressing thru multiple partners. Something changed about him. In the end, he was actually fighting in his own admonition with love in his heart, not that he did not have any love prior to the woman. He loved his cousin. His cousin’s death actually fuelled his anger and motivated him to fight Hector. But it was when he loved Hector’s cousin that death began to have more meaning and substance or at least more impact. To me, love was what made Achilles human. Love was his weakness. Perhaps his love is comparable to his heel. Generally, a person does not pay too much attention or importance to his heel. But his heel is what makes him able and a competent fighter. Without it, his heel or his heart or his weakness, he is incomplete.

I know that there are more dramatic scenes or perhaps more interesting characters, but zooming in on the character Achilles, I learn about love. I begin to digest the idea that people need weaknesses to rise, to perform better and to be able to devote themselves to something. It is always through our weakest moments that we learn and feel the need to stand and head towards the light. By acknowledging the fact that we are weak in one area, we can focus on our strengths and/or improve our weakness.

I begin to see that people need love to be able to comprehend, to understand, to be able to give meaning and substance to whatever it is that they do. I do not mean passion or driving force to do something, but just meaning or substance. For example, we could be doing errands for people, but it means so much more when we love the people we are doing it for. Or sometimes when we like a particular subject or concept, we immediately absorb or grasp the subject at hand. Through the movie Troy, I saw how love indeed gives life meaning, although I did not see it immediately.