My favorite movie of all time is Ridley Scott’s Gladiator.
I cannot begin to describe how mesmerized I was while watching it on the big screen. It was as if I wasn’t in the 21st century but right there in the Roman Empire beholding Praetorian guards in their military finery. Though I would later read in a magazine that the film featured several "historical inaccuracies," the film’s over-all effect on me was to immerse me completely in the feel and spirit of the mighty Roman Empire – and the saga of a genuinely good man, the Roman general Maximus Decimus Meridus (Russell Crowe).
Once I had told myself that when I die I would ask the Almighty for one big favor – could I please, please just have the pleasure of watching key scenes in mankind’s history replayed before my eyes? I would so love to watch Michangelo painting the Sistine chapel, or Moses crossing the Red Sea, José Rizal writing the Noli Me Tangere or Gen. Douglas McArthur wading in the waters of Leyte, fulfilling his promise of "I shall return." And since I would be at it, I’d even request Him to replay the building of the pyramids and that of the great Wall of China!
Maybe this love for bygone eras is why I favor watching period films like Braveheart (Mel Gibson); First Knight (with Sean Connery, Richard Gere and Julia Ormond); Spartacus (with Kirk Douglas and Tony Curtis); Elizabeth (with Cate Blanchett and Joseph Fiennes); Oliver (starring Mark Lester and Oliver Reed); Excalibur (with Nicholas Clay and Helen Mirren); Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (starring Chow Yun Fat and Michelle Yeoh); Legends of the Fall (Brad Pitt and Anthony Hopkins); and the The Count of Monte Cristo (Jim Caviezel), among many others.
Still, there was something about Gladiator that tugged – and still tugs – at my heart more than any period film ever did. Looking back I think it had to do with the character of the main hero, the Spanish general Maximus Desmus Meridius played superbly by Russell Crowe. If there were a "perfect" protagonist I’d say it would be Maximus – virile, handsome, rugged and strong, yet humble, honorable, noble and above all courageous. I remember prophetically telling my husband who was watching with me, "Mark my word, Russell Crowe will win an Oscar for Best Actor for this one." Sure enough, he did.
I was floored by the way Maximus defeated the contravida, Emperor Commodus played by Joaquin Phoenix, who did a good job of playing a man tormented by the love he believes was denied him by his father, Emperor Marcus Aurelius (Richard Harris). Maximus defeats Commodus not just physically, but moreso by refusing to allow the emperor to crush his (Maximus’) spirit. The serenity and strength of Maximus’ spirit contrasted sharply with the brutality of an empire whose excesses and cruelty had bred gladiators. It’s hard to come by such heroes these days – whether on film or in real life – so when I watched Maximus it was such a welcome change.
I’ve never really comprehended what is meant by "turning the other cheek" when we are treated unfairly, but in Maximus I realized that strength is not allowing ourselves to be drawn into our tormentors’ game. Even if you don’t get its deeper messages, Gladiator makes for a compelling narrative, but it is even better, as I discovered, as a tale of a man’s quest to set things right – but in the right way... and with peace in his heart.
Right then and there I watched Gladiator all over again in the theater. I have seen it several times on tape and on cable, but it has not lost its magic at all. The hooves of the mighty Roman army thunder once more in battle. The Emperor and his sister are garbed in full Roman splendor. The Colosseum is alive again with the roar of a delirious crowd.
"We mortals are but shadows and dust," said the gladiator trainer Proximo (Oliver Reed). Though you could say the same thing about films, Gladiator is one movie, I am sure, that won’t meet that fate in my heart.