Quo vadis (1951)

	Also Known As: -
	Year of first release: 1951
	Director: Mervyn LeRoy, Anthony Mann
	Actors: Robert Taylor, Deborah Kerr, Peter Ustinov
	Country: USA
	Genre: Epic, Drama, Romance
	Conditions of visioning: 25.12.2016, TV Arte, French version
Synopsis: Returning to Rome after three years of war, General Marcus Vinicius (Taylor) meets Lygia (Kerr) and falls in love with her, though as a Christian she wants nothing to do with a warrior. Though she grew up Roman, the adopted daughter of a retired general, Lygia is technically a hostage of Rome. Marcus gets Emperor Nero (Ustinov) to give her to him for services rendered but starts slowly to reject the ideas of Nero.
Review: I had the opportunity to watch an old North American Epic. I watched many of these as a kid and this awoke my interest to history. But this is a movie, not the reality of the history. Once we know that, we can continue watching.  The story is based on some episodes of the reign of Nero in the Ancient Rome. The contrast between the Roman militaries and the peaceful Christians (some also Romans) is striking. When we see the Christians considered as conspirator while we know that they are supposed to be the good guys in the North America of that time, it makes it dramatic. But also quite funny if we compare the Christians with the communists in North America at the time of the deleterious McCarthyism. There are different kind of message that may have been transported by this movie. Most of the epic genre aims at glorifying one country, one culture or one people. This one is a bit ambiguous to me. Even if I did not like much the acting by Robert Taylor, Deborah Kerr and Peter Ustinov are brilliant. There is a kind of theatrical atmosphere in the acting. That I remember actually for the whole genre of Hollywood epic.
Rating: 7 /10