The Eagle

Today (February 12) we saw the movie "The Eagle" on its second day of release.  Once again, Alice enjoy this movie very much.  I also liked it and found that it was a well filmed and well acted movie and a movie about things being saved.  Marcus Aquila takes command of a military post in the area where his disgraced father apparently led a group of 5000 soldiers on a mission from which they never returned.  In addition a valuable Roman eagle symbol was apparently forever lost.  Marcus leads his garrison well and prevents a sneak and surprise attack but he is severely wounded in the battle.  He is then honorably retired as his injuries take many months to heal.  While witnessing a fight to the death in one of the Roman games he rescues a man named Esca, agreeing to make him a slave.  However, he is much more than a slave as he becomes his friend.  So, Marcus saves his honor and then saves Esca.  Together they decide to travel to the north beyond Hadrian's wall in Northern Britain to find out what happened to his father and "save" the Eagle symbol.  When they encounter the Seal tribe way to the north Esca now "saves" Marcus by pretending that Marcus is his slave.  They find the Eagle symbol and take it but are pursued by the Seal people.  Esca again saves Marcus in repeated encounters.  A final battle which summons some of the lost 5000 Roman soldiers (recruited by Esca) finds Marcus saving Esca during a bloody battle.  Together they return the Eagle to Rome where one of the Roman politicians mutters that the rescue was made by Marcus and a slave.  With the honor of the family of Marcus restored and "saved" he says that Esca is more than a slave.  The movie is not Christian but the Christian overtones are stunning and we can learn much from it.  The music is haunting.  I was struck by how primitive life really was in the early years of the first Millennium.  The movie is historical, heroic and honorable.