Even were you about to live three thousand years or thrice ten thousand, nevertheless remember this, that no one loses any other life than this which he is living, nor lives any other than this which he is losing. Thus the longest and the shortest come to the same thing. For the present is equal for all, and what is passing is therefore equal: thus what is being lost is proved to be barely a moment. For a man could lose neither past nor future; how can one rob him of what he has not got? Always remember, then, these two things: one, that all things from everlasting are of the same kind, and are in rotation; and it matters nothing whether it be for a hundred years or for two hundred or for an infinite time that a man shall behold the same spectacle; the other, that the longest-lived and the soonest to die have an equal loss; for it is the present alone of which either will be deprived, since (as we saw) this is all he has and a man does not lose what he has not got.

~ Marcus Aurelius, Book II verse 14

It’s okay. The filming location in Thailand is nice. Besides that and the smut (has lots of it), there isn’t much other redeeming quality. 4/10.

Interesting setting—set in 1933, with WWII as a backdrop, in a wealthy family house in France. 4/10.

Are you a man to enjoy an irony, Marcus Aurelius?
Look well then at the emperor of all Rome become no better than a slave.
And who or what is your master?
Slave!
A small point in your side. Perhaps no larger than a grain of wheat.
Of what use is your wisdom now?
No answer?
Think of all you have read and pondered over the years.
And the talk, Marcus Aurelius. The hours of talk with your friend, Timonides.
Surely it must have prepared you for this moment.
But it has failed you, hasn’t it?
You are not prepared.
Why?
In all that talk did this this topic, death slip your minds?
Or did you know deep down that your wisdom would be helpless before this mystery of mysteries.
But once you admit that, all other knowledge and skill only becomes trivial and meaningless.
But then you would not have thought and read and talked and wondered.
So, perhaps it is just as well.
For if men do not think, read, talk to each other, above all else, talk, they are no longer men.
He has come for me. The silent boatman to ferry me across the shadowed river.
I am not ready for you. I’ve always been willing to bargain with my enemies.
Can we not make a treaty?
For your part I ask you to wait two years. One year.
I cannot do it in less than a year.
I do not seek pleasures, or friendship, or love.
I speak only of Rome. And when I say Rome, I mean the world.
The future.
For my part, I am prepared to live on in pain.
A year. What is a year to you?
Coarse, vulgar, stupid thing.
Yet it was I who said, Is it not in the nature of the fig tree to give figs, as for the honey bee to give honey, and for the lion who fall upon the lamb?
So it is in the way of things that you should come for me.
Forgive me, Boatman. I did not realize you were blind
and deaf.
Come for me when you will.
My hand shall lead us.
But I tell you this:
There is a great truth
we have not yet divined.

~ Marcus Aurelius in the Movie The Fall of The Roman Empire

I liked the movie; the set design was impressive, and Marcus Aurelius was properly portrayed as a stoic. I also loved his death speech.

Thematically, the movie is well done. It highlights the stoic ideals of Marcus Aurelius, particularly his virtues of duty and responsibility above everything else, even in the face of immense suffering. These ideals clash with more worldly desires, as seen in his son Commodus, who acts like a serpent, seducing others away from virtue. This conflict is also reflected in the struggle against the barbarians. A recurring phrase, “I am not as strong as I thought I was,” encapsulates this theme well. 7.5/10.