First, I excerpted a comment from a netizen. I think the overview is very concise and in place: "An epic love and beautiful tragic drama worth watching. Love transcends classes and transcends life!" In one sentence, the theme of the movie is succinctly and comprehensively pointed. But there is one thing I disagree with: I don't think it's a tragedy.
Outline the background of the film: The time is the beginning of the establishment of AD, and the Roman imperial class is all over the sky. There is a group of slaves in this context who kill each other in the arena to please the nobles. The film tells the story of slaves who resisted and won under the oppression of the power, although all of them were sacrificed in natural disasters, which is the "Doomsday of Pompeii" (I want to kill myself, the profile is too bad). So "The Last Days of Pompeii" is both the title and the ending. But it's just a title and an ending, and the movie itself shows viewers much more than that.
In the film I saw the brutality and ruthlessness of class rule—the product of the long-term development of human society. From the Roman congressman (sorry, I don't remember the names of the characters, I only understand what they symbolize) forcibly marrying the Princess of Pompeii, arbitrarily deciding the fate of slaves, to finally killing the panicked civilians when faced with a natural disaster and trying to escape for their lives, etc. The picture can show the filth of class rule. However, the congressman who symbolizes Roman land rights, and the role of the biggest villain in the game, ended up being defeated by a slave and handcuffed in Pompeii to meet the end and death.
This is a very good hint. When I saw his death, I felt in my heart: what kind of civilization, what kind of human society, in the face of natural disasters, the probability of death and survival is equal for everyone; at this time, class How weak the division seems. I think the gods that the Romans believed in, they created human beings, but could no longer bear this unfair human world, so they erupted volcanoes and tsunamis, trying to destroy this complex society. But they did not expect that when human beings grow up again, such a class will be destined to appear again. Therefore, the gods no longer intervene, waiting for the people at the bottom to initiate a revolution to overthrow the imperial power.
Before the end of the day, there was already a shadow of revolution in Pompeii. I still can't remember the names of the two protagonists, so let's call them a "protagonist slave" and a "barbarian". The barbarian is my favorite character in the whole film. As a comrade-in-arms of the protagonist's slave, I witnessed their bondage again (I like the friendship between warriors, especially the revolutionary teenagers. I think this friendship transcends life and death, but comparable to or even above love). From enemies in the arena, to mutual recognition, to fighting side by side in the end, their courage to challenge authority, determination to fight to the end, and mutual loyalty, I can't help but regret why the natural disaster took the life of such a worthy person. Of course, the role of the barbarian is not only to be a brave and fearless warrior and a sincere comrade-in-arms, he reflects the yearning for freedom of the people at the bottom. From the beginning to the end of the film, he is fighting for his freedom, except at the end he proposes to find the princess of Pompeii with the protagonist slave and chooses to stay and fight the Roman general to the death. But at this time he has been freed by natural disasters, and he can choose his own life. He died with the Roman general, and I saw his pride and dignity as a fighter. When facing the death that the natural disaster brought him, he shouted to the surging flames: My compatriots who are dying, I salute you, I die in freedom! (I like the English that this black friend shouted, so I also wrote: I die as a free man!) Don't you think this is the best ending for a person who pursues freedom with one suit?
Pompeii in the film is actually an ideal city, like a utopia in a troubled world - thanks to him having an enlightened monarch, the lord of Pompeii, the father of the princess. He asked the Roman emperor for permission to make a deal with him, using the money he earned to help the poor of Pompeii. What an enlightened monarch, but because of his enlightenment, he brought the pedantic class power of Rome (that is, the Roman parliamentarian) into his favorite city. Not only its monarch, the princess of Pompeii was instrumental in shaping Pompeii: she fell in love with a slave because of his strength, boldness and tenderness beneath the surface of a tough man. I dare not say that this girl was a pioneer of the idea of equality in that era, but her pure love is admirable. The love between the protagonist slave and the princess of Pompeii is the clue of the whole movie. They love it fiercely, but I don't feel it, I prefer black friends (that is, savages).
The feelings are all germinated while watching the movie. I have written it off and on for an hour now, and I have almost forgotten it. In short, the ending is that Pompeii was destroyed by natural disasters, (probably) no one was spared, and the hero and heroine ended in a kiss. The ruthlessness of the nobles makes me happy to live in a well-off family in a capitalist environment, and at the same time, the ending of the annihilation makes me afraid of the power of nature. I hope that tomorrow I will go to the "Doomsday of Pompeii" exhibition in Global Harbor to let me know The cause and effect of this natural disaster, at least don't make me feel uneasy because I think I will die in a tsunami one day inexplicably.
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