Troy is a powerful film depicting the legendary Greek tragedy by Homer about wars and love for Hector, Achilles, Helen and Paris. Australian actor Eric Banor plays the role of General Hector of Troy, the heir apparent who must protect his foolish younger brother, Prince Paris, who has fallen in love with Helen, wife of a Macedonian King. Two kingdoms collide, once allies now bitter enemies, reflecting human patterns of social intercourse; love, jealousy, politics, deception, faith, ego, revenge, grief and loss.
In the end, all lose something of great value to themselves. For Achilles, his bizarre death tore him from the priestess who had captured his bachelor heart. Paris lost his father, had already seen his brother tragically murdered by Achilles, and was now witness to the destruction metered out to his kingdom for his actions of love.
The Trojan horse really brings home the duplicity that can exist within human nature. So often in life we find ourselves spending time with others and letting them into our lives and personal domains, only to find that they have disguised a more insidious reason for the friendship. The story of Troy is timeless in that it can be used as a metaphor for many social interactions across history and geographical location.
I think Homer wrote the tale as an encouragement to others to reflect upon their own behaviours and thoughts and to see themselves in this story. Troy is a guide about how to live, similar in function to that of the Tibetan Book of the Dead. The movie does not celebrate war, which I appreciated given the 21st century context in which it was made and the emphasis in the media about fighting the “Axis of Evil”.
What I enjoyed most about the movie was that it did not have a “Disneyland ending” in that there was tragedy. Especially for me the unnecessary death of Hector almost made me cry. Contrasted with the unnecessary death of Achilles’ nephew, for which Hector is slewed I can’t say I felt the same sadness as with Hector’s death. It was not just that he was a dad, in love and delighted in living. Hector, was a man of a true strong heart, who realized his privileged position in the world and sought to use his power responsibly. He was truly sorry for the accidental death of Achilles’ cousin; his depth of character is rare in a person, even in the world of today.