Hottoceame The Age of Commercialism

TrueHello Fun premise, good actors, bad writing. This film seemed to have potential at the beginning but it quickly devolves into a trite action film. Ultimately it's very boring.

Bob This is one of the best movies I’ve seen in a very long time. You have to go and see this on the big screen.

Geraldine The story, direction, characters, and writing/dialogue is akin to taking a tranquilizer shot to the neck, but everything else was so well done.

MartinHafer "Mare Nostrum" is the sort of film that must have played very well back in the day but now looks very, very dated. This is because the plot is often ridiculously melodramatic and very old fashioned. It also includes some story elements (such as the Greek goddess Amphitrite) that just seem out of place and unnecessary.The movie begins with a prologue that is completely unnecessary, so I will say no more. The next scene finds the young boy at the beginning is grown and is a sea captain--much to his wife's dismay. In fact, she harangues him about this and he vows to quit. However, WWI erupts and the man realizes he can make a fortune with his shipping business. However, what he doesn't know is that his trip from home in Barcelona to Italy will result in ruin, as he meets a beautiful temptress who seduces him. In fact, she even gets him to do a small mission for the Germans, as she's actually a spy for the Central Powers. Captain Ulysses has been assured that his helping supply a submarine with fuel won't be a problem, as the ship won't attack any passenger ships. But, soon the u-boat IS attacking cruise ships and sinks the one with Ulysses' son aboard! Now, Ulysses is furious and vows revenge against the female spy and her cause. What's next? See the film.In many ways, this film plays like a much more melodramatic version of "Mata Hari". It also features characters that are pretty unlikable and a running theme about a Greek goddess that comes off as very heavy-handed. Although also heavy-handed, I did like the Angel of Death clip near the end--it was pretty funny. Overall, a watchable film that is probably best seen by folks who adore silents and will cut the film a lot of slack, as it is pretty silly.

st-shot Since he was a child Ulysses Farragut had been in love with the sea embodied in the legend of the beautiful Ampitetre. Against his fathers wishes he grows up to captain his own boat The Mare Nostrum but as blissful as his life on the waves is it takes him away from his family. When The War breaks out the lucrative business of shipping as a neutral nation (Spain) calls for even more of his time. While on a tour of ruins he meets a German spy who fulfills his childhood ideal. She seduces him and he in turn agrees to assist re-fueling U boats seeking military targets. His actions result in catastrophe however when it sinks a passenger ship. Haunted by guilt and the need to exact revenge Farragut pursues those responsible.Shot on location in Europe Mare Nostrum has an impressive look filled with the rich attention to detail that silent film director Rex Ingram and cameraman George Seitz (Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse) excelled at. Along with Von Stroheim he provided the era with the most lush and textured canvases and Mare Nostrum is a gallery of splendid landscapes, interiors and portraits to behold. Given its splendid look and fine chemistry and performances from Antonio Moreno and Alice Terry it moves along at a leisurely but absorbing pace. The supporting cast is also up to task with a trio of effective villains singling out Paquerette's Dr. Feldman. Its a pity that Ingram retired from directing at an early age, it would have been interesting to see more extensive sound work which he did only briefly. As far as cameraman Seitz he would go to work on a regular basis with legendary directors Preston Sturges and Billy Wilder in their peak. I'd say he's a lot more important to the history than given credit for.

Ron Oliver A young Spanish sea captain learns about life & death, great love & passionate hatred, while sailing the waters of MARE NOSTRUM - ‘Our Sea.'Brilliant & disturbing, this was the last important film from acclaimed silent director Rex Ingram. Produced to great effect on location in the Western Mediterranean, this was one of Metro's biggest films of the 1920's. Returning to the author who had already given him enormous success with THE FOUR HORSEMEN OF THE APOCALYPSE - Vicente Blasco Ibáñez - Ingram would once again produce a film of exceptional high quality. Today, it is all but forgotten...Antonio Moreno gives a vivid performance as the Captain who is used so harshly by fate. His doleful eyes linger in the imagination of the viewer long after the end of the film. Alice Terry - Mrs. Rex Ingram - is sultry & beautiful as the Austrian spy who seduces Moreno. Her firing squad scene is considered a classic of pacing & composition, and she is magnificent in it.Uni Apollon is very effective in his few minutes as an old Spanish sea dog. Madame Pâquerette, as a large, mannish German spy master is formidable. Hughie Mack, as an absolutely loyal, grossly obese Spanish servant, is especially satisfying. (This excellent character actor would die from heart disease the year after MARE NOSTRUM's release, at the age of only 42.)The unfortunate use of obvious models for some of the scenes at sea is more than mitigated by the presence of real ships & submarines in others. The filming among the ruins in Italy's Pompeii & Paestum, as well as the spy chase along the waterfront in Marseille, add tremendously to the overall ambiance of this remarkable film.The underwater sequences with Amphitrite, goddess of Mare Nostrum, are absolutely haunting.

Dsosin This is a first-rate WWI spy film, shot on location in Pompeiiand elsewhere; the story is gripping and the details ofcharacter are finely thought out. It was shown to great acclaimat AMMI and Pordenone. I provided a piano score in eachvenue