Illyricvm (2022)

Timothy King said:No, let’s get back to the movie itself. I actually like your point about how they mythologize the Rocky Mountains. That is essentially what this film is—the plot is incredibly thin, so you really need a certain level of patience to get through it.

At first glance, I was also inclined to think the story was flimsy. I mean, we can't really claim this narrative is going to blow anyone away, given how American cinema seems to have forgotten how to tell truly great, substantive stories lately.

However, it isn't quite as shallow as it appears during those first thirty minutes.
The story actually has a coherent structure. Once you realize that after their wandering through forests and meadows, they are heading toward a remote border outpost to collect tribute—livestock, food, valuables—you can't say there isn't a fundamental thread. Woven through this core is our history involving the Illyrians, providing a window into the tribes, their beliefs, customs, and social dynamics. On one hand, you have that, and on the other, you have the life of a Roman mercenary, handled with a certain creative freedom. It all feels quite compelling; in fact, it’s a brilliant departure from the usual American films that tend to exhaust themselves with mediocre, small-scale dramas.

This is a fantastic contribution to the frontier genre, which is most famously explored through the Western (US cavalry versus Native Americans). While it occasionally slips into unintentional caricature—like that training sequence where the Roman soldiers' swords barely graze the armor, making the drills look rather limp—on the other hand, it leans so effectively into its own exoticism. It reminds me of Topp's work and his explorations of the edges of the world, much like Solitude sickness or Colt Frontier.

The costume design is superb, the landscapes are stunning, and the folklore fascinates me—specifically the Illyrian dance during the funeral rites. When the warriors finally emerge and charge, followed by the shaman, it serves as the perfect culmination.

So, people should head straight to the theater, because this is something that demands to be seen.

My daughter stopped by yesterday. She mentioned the movie was quite bloody—too much for her taste—and complained about the poor quality of the Latin.

wanderingbison9 said:Even if they turn out to be total assholes in the movie, people always end up rooting for the Romans anyway. 😬

As a die-hard Asterix fan, I'm kind of stuck somewhere in the middle on this one. 😁

Brenda Ramirez2 said:My daughter was over yesterday and mentioned the movie was pretty bloody—maybe a bit much for her taste—and that the Latin they used sounded a bit off?

I wonder if she could elaborate on what she meant by poor Latin? Was it the grammar, or perhaps the pronunciation, or maybe just the way they handled the long and short vowels? Honestly, the only thing I’d nitpick is how they pronounce the letter "v"—if they aren't using that soft English "w" sound, but sticking to a hard "v" instead, which is still how it's often taught in our schools even though we're technically studying Classical Latin at that stage.

This is actually quite interesting—surprising, even. Both in terms of execution and deeper meaning. Honestly, I think he could benefit from seeing it a few more times. The timing with the EU works out well, too.

Pulling off a shoot like this is a feat in itself—even more so given our local production constraints—but making sure it doesn't look cheap? That’s the real achievement.

Unfortunately, I was at the theater alone (okay, fine, it was a 4:30 PM showing, but still depressing), especially since the halls were packed during the Red color premiere earlier that day.

I just sat through a second viewing... and something else occurred to me: that ending feels like a classic trope used by our filmmakers—if you can't figure out how to wrap up the narrative properly, just have everyone kill each other and call it a day.

The way the conflict broke out on my island immediately brings to mind movies like *The Guardhouse*, and I’m sure there are plenty of other examples out there. In this particular film, since the plot is so straightforward, untangling the events isn't actually the hard part; it's just that they fell back on a very tired recipe.

northerncrane4 said:especially since there was a packed house one day during that lackluster "Red color" screening).

I find this whole situation just as baffling as well.

The Red color rubac—that dreary little thing that felt more like a bad sketch than an actual movie—actually drew quite a crowd for me; I was sitting there in what felt like a nearly full theater. Now, Illyrian, that space vessel production, saw a significantly smaller turnout, though it still pulled a decent enough number, considering how quiet the local cinemas have been lately.

wanderingbison9 said:Could his daughter elaborate on the poor Latin? Is it the grammar? The pronunciation? Long versus short vowels? My only grievance would be the pronunciation of "v." They tend to favor a hard "v" sound over the English "w," even though they're supposed to be teaching classical Latin at that level.

I will ask her and let you know 🙂. She is a junior at a prep school, taking both Latin and Greek alongside the honors students.

Brenda Ramirez2 said:My daughter was over yesterday. She said the movie was pretty bloody—way too much for her taste and that the Latin sounded off ?

That's just Vulgar Latin. It’s not like people were speaking formal literary Latin while hiking the Rocky Mountains. 😛

Brenda Ramirez2 said:"I'll ask her and let you know" 🙂—standard high school junior stuff—listening to Latin and Greek alongside some fourth-year nerd

Is she actually listening to ancient audio recordings?

Oedipus!

I’m pretty stoked about what I saw. It was super interesting, totally different, and honestly, the symbolism and themes were spot on... Even that stuff we were just chatting about over at Lamentations didn't feel out of place. Everything was handled with just the right amount of balance!

quietfox38 said:That’s just Vulgar Latin. You think people were out hiking the Rocky Mountains quoting formal literature? Yeah, right. 😛

Back then, Vulgar Latin hadn't even become a thing yet.

I asked her about it. She mentioned the pronunciation felt off compared to what they teach in school—they follow specific rules there—so her speech sounded unnatural. They really should have put in more effort.

Brenda Ramirez2 said:So I asked her about it, and she mentioned that the pronunciation was quite different from what they teach in school—you know, how they stick strictly to specific rules—so it sounded a bit unnatural to her, almost as if they could have put in a little more effort.

Thanks, but isn't that a bit too broad to go on? We don't really know what their specific curriculum looks like, what kind of pronunciation they're being taught, or even what level they've reached. Personally, I actually thought this was one of the better attempts out there, and since Latin is a dead language, how can we ever truly know what "natural" speech sounded like anyway? At least they aren't just reciting lines while standing perfectly still like wooden Marys, which seems to be the standard most people fall into.

Take a look at how the Barbarians from Netflix handled Latin in their series, especially when you consider they had an absolutely massive budget behind them:



Maybe he might find the Illyrian style somewhat appealing after all. 😬

Hey, just wanted to drop this here in case anyone’s curious! It’s a video from one of my lectures where I was chatting with my students about the whole process of how a movie actually comes to life... thought it might be interesting!

So, I was just thinking about why movies always show the Roman army rocking gear from 150 AD when they're supposed to be set back in 35 BC. It’s kind of wild how often they mess up the timeline like that, right?

Raymond Wood77 said:Why does the Roman army in this movie—set in 35 BC—show up wearing gear that wasn't even standard until 150 AD?

Same question here—why is everyone suddenly twenty inches taller than the actual average back then? Is this some kind of NBA legion, director? Absolute nonsense—basketball didn't even exist! FAIL!

Raymond Wood77 said:Why does the film show the Roman army using gear from 150 AD when they're supposed to be set in 35 BC?

That's an interesting thought, but shouldn't you provide a specific example when making a claim like that?

Why did the media absolutely trash this movie?