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commander to influence the course of historical events (Elley, 126). The
film dramatizes his transformation as slow and subtle. As Marcus watches
Plautius martyred in the arena, he is angry that the general’s service to his
country is so brutally repaid, though he is comforted that as a soldier,
Plautius “knows how to die.” When he and Lygia are married by Peter,
Marcus still doesn’t understand the new religion, but the film implies that
his love for her will open his eyes and heart to the possibility of belief.
Only when he finds himself helpless and unable to save Lygia from Nero’s
cruelty, as he watches Ursus wrestle the bull, does he cry out: “Christ, give
him strength.” At the thought of losing his beloved, Marcus reaches out to
Christianity.
In the first half of the film, the idea of Christianity is presented with
restraint, as lightly as Acte’s drawing of a fish in the spilled face powder,
but it comes in more powerfully in the scene where Marcus seeks Lygia at
the midnight meeting. LeRoy locates the religious gathering under the
arches of a Roman aqueduct, suggesting that Christianity is already incorporated
into Rome and will ultimately find a triumphant home there.
During Peter’s sermon about Christ’s ministry, the film uses flashback to
convey the Christian “message,” as the memories unfold from Peter’s perspective:
fishing on his boat, the last supper, his denial of Jesus, and the
resurrection. Peter’s speech to the assembly articulates the polarity between
the authority of the Roman state and an individual’s personal moral
freedom. Although resistance to the new religion is presented mainly
through Marcus’ reaction, all the Roman characters speak with disparaging
ignorance and mistrust of the Christian sect. After the fire, Nero voices
the ironic promise: “When I have finished with these Christians, history
will not be sure they ever existed!”
The film employs the Christian characters to delineate the commitment
and serenity of the religion. Lygia, the Christian girl, in a placid performance
by Scottish actress Deborah Kerr of The King and I (1956) fame, is
the daughter of a foreign king, with a trace of remembered royalty in her
stately bearing. Although she is adopted by a Roman family, she lives with
them in Christian purity in the country, away from the excesses of the
city. Lygia wears the colors of nature, sky blue, wheat yellow, and earth
brown, revealing her innocence and simplicity. Her loyal manservant,
Ursus, “Bear,” is a symbol that strength can be utilized with humility and
devotion. Yet Lygia is under the power of Rome, even in the Christian
household of Plautius, since her status as a hostage curtails her freedom,
and initially Marcus will seek to possess her the Roman way, through
conquest. When Marcus first sees her, Lygia is lighting a lamp, in a scene
QUO VADIS (1951) 23