A humorless feminist toga epic that fascinates with its intelligence and its abhorrence of the birth of Judeo/Christian culture.

This Spanish-produced period drama is pretty dreadful: the drama is torpid, the astronomy lessons pedantic, and the spear-and-sandal production values flat-out cheesy.

Alejandro Amenábar creates a palpable sense of place and never strays too far from his duty to stage big, sense-filling set pieces.

By the end, the audience comes no closer to understanding why Hypatia is driven by her quest for truth. Her character is merely present to ask these questions, so that the viewer might ask analogous questions today.