This is a scene that is a reoccurring day dream/ dream for
Maximus. This is his home and he dreams about touching his crops and seeing his
family once again after being away from them for over 2 years while fighting
for Rome. He again sees this at the end of the movie when he is dying because
this is his heaven and his paradise. This scene can be interpreted as just a
simple wide over the shoulder shot of him standing at home in his fields
enjoying the view but I believe it means so much more. He is in utter bliss by
the simplicity of touching his crops and the emptiness and stillness the farm
provides. This is a break from the chaos and brutality of war. He dreams of
this and that is why the scene has a distinct hue in order for the audience to differentiate
this dream image from the original scenes of the movie. He is still in his army
attire because it shows that he is dreaming and he is actually still on the
battlefield but he is imagining himself there and that is why he is wearing
armor instead of farmers clothing.
This is one of my favorite scenes from the movie because, as you said, it takes away from the brutality of fighting. Also, this can be a foreshadowing as the long road he must take in order to regain his freedom after he has been put in slavery. The rough and windy road can symbolize his life.
ReplyDeleteMarley, you are right to mention the hue. The colors in this image have been deliberately faded out because Maximus is having this vision as he is dying. Notice that there are two tiny people coming to meet him on the road in the distance?
ReplyDeleteI really like this scene as well. I think how you talk about hue and how it shows the audience that this is dream and how he is in an army attire instead of farmers clothing. I never thought about that before.
ReplyDeleteMaximus' army attire is actually the same as his gladiator's outfit. Proximo returned Maximus' black cuirass with the two silver horses to him when Maximus agreed to go to Rome with him and fight in the arena.
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