Actum Cinemagraphicum: Pompeii: Boahen Kwakye

05/05/22

My Acta Reflection is based on a movie called Pompeii. It seems like more of a drama than a historical account of what happened on the island of Pompeii. The inspiration of the movie comes from the eruption of Mount of Vesuvius that completely covered the island with lava and ash. This happened around 79 A.D. and allowed archaeologists to learn a great deal about the Roman people, customs and culture since the lava and ash preserved the city very well. In the movie, there are a lot of circumstances that were plausible for a city during Ancient Rome intertwined with the plot.

The story begins with the conquest of a tribe of Celtics by a Roman army and the protagonist’s younger self was captured by slave traders. Ancient Rome held a large amount of land surrounding the Mediterranean Sea, including parts of present-day North Africa, the Middle East and a vast majority of Southern Europe. The Romans often took prisioners of war to serve as slaves for the aristocracy or anyone wealthy enough to afford them. Similarly, the protagonist Milo was reared as a gladiator for the Gladiator games held at the Colosseum. He attracts the attention of a royal princess named Cassia who is the daughter of a governor, a relationship that would never gain a blessing from anyone at the time. This particularly angers Roman Senator Corvus who was responsible for the death of MIlo’s parents during the Celtic horseman invasion. Corvus is unaware of this connection but is more concerned with Milo gaining the affection of the woman that he is interested in.

After a lot of fighting and gladiator style epic shots, Milo and his love are unable to escape the incoming lava flow and fireball and within the embrace of one another. They are shown in each other’s eternal embrace in the modern day as archaeologists excavate the city. I know that is love story is probably not how the couple lived their lives but it was a wonderful Roman Tale that I would recommend to anyone young and old.