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IMDbPro

The First King

Original title: Il primo re
  • 20192019
  • TV-MATV-MA
  • 2h 3m
IMDb RATING
6.5/10
5.4K
YOUR RATING
POPULARITY
17,598
71
Alessandro Borghi in The First King (2019)
Official Trailer
Play trailer1:12
1 Video
60 Photos
DramaHistory
Romulus and Remus, two shepherds and loyal brothers, end up taking part to a journey that will lead one of them to be the founder of the greatest nation ever seen. However, the fate of the c... Read allRomulus and Remus, two shepherds and loyal brothers, end up taking part to a journey that will lead one of them to be the founder of the greatest nation ever seen. However, the fate of the chosen one will pass from killing his own brother.Romulus and Remus, two shepherds and loyal brothers, end up taking part to a journey that will lead one of them to be the founder of the greatest nation ever seen. However, the fate of the chosen one will pass from killing his own brother.
IMDb RATING
6.5/10
5.4K
YOUR RATING
POPULARITY
17,598
71
  • See more at IMDbPro
    • Director
      • Matteo Rovere
    • Writers
      • Filippo Gravino(story)
      • Francesca Manieri(story)
      • Matteo Rovere(story)
    • Stars
      • Alessandro Borghi
      • Alessio Lapice
      • Fabrizio Rongione
    Top credits
    • Director
      • Matteo Rovere
    • Writers
      • Filippo Gravino(story)
      • Francesca Manieri(story)
      • Matteo Rovere(story)
    • Stars
      • Alessandro Borghi
      • Alessio Lapice
      • Fabrizio Rongione
  • See production, box office & company info
    • 32User reviews
    • 38Critic reviews
    • Awards
      • 10 wins & 27 nominations

    Videos1

    Romulus & Remus: The First King
    Trailer 1:12
    Romulus & Remus: The First King

    Photos60

    Alessandro Borghi in The First King (2019)
    The First King (2019)
    The First King (2019)
    The First King (2019)
    The First King (2019)
    Alessandro Borghi in The First King (2019)
    Alessio Lapice in The First King (2019)
    The First King (2019)
    Alessandro Borghi in The First King (2019)
    Alessandro Borghi and Alessio Lapice in The First King (2019)
    Alessandro Borghi and Alessio Lapice in The First King (2019)
    The First King (2019)

    Top cast

    Edit
    Alessandro Borghi
    Alessandro Borghi
    • Remo
    Alessio Lapice
    • Romolo
    Fabrizio Rongione
    Fabrizio Rongione
    • Lars il Vecchio
    Massimiliano Rossi
    Massimiliano Rossi
    • Tefarie
    Tania Garribba
    • Satnei la Vestale
    Michael Schermi
    • Arant la Bestia
    Max Malatesta
    Max Malatesta
    • Veltur
    Vincenzo Pirrotta
    • Cai il Sabino
    Vincenzo Crea
    • Elaxantre il Ragazzo
    Lorenzo Gleijeses
    • Purtnas il Cacciatore
    Gabriel Montesi
    Gabriel Montesi
    • Adieis il Gentile
    Antonio Orlando
    • Erenneis
    Fiorenzo Mattu
    • Mamercus
    Martinus Tocchi
    • Lubces il Muto
    Fabrizio Nobili
    • Guardia Albalonga
    Federico Diust
    • Tias
    Danilo Sarappa
    • Picus
    Riccardo Mioni
    • Nobile Albalonga
    • Director
      • Matteo Rovere
    • Writers
      • Filippo Gravino(story) (screenplay)
      • Francesca Manieri(story) (screenplay)
      • Matteo Rovere(story) (screenplay)
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

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    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      Actors speak their roles in preroman Latin.

    User reviews32

    Review
    Top review
    10/10
    Deserves attention
    This film isn't as striking as Revenant or as thematically deep as Valhalla Rising, but it sure gets close.

    I didn't choose to mention those two titles casually. Il Primo Re uses a similar range of storytelling devices: minimal dialogues, stunning visuals, a very realistic environment, metaphysical experiences. This provides the film a very immersive style, that can be perceived probably a bit slow, but that also elevates the release's quality.

    The interesting part is that Il Primo Re reinterprets a well-known myth but stays faithful to its roots, and merges is with realistic historical settings. The villages, armaments, religions depicted mostly are very close to those that could've been during the pre-roman period.Obviously Il Primo Re mustn't be considered a historically accurate film, but it certainly gives the feel of that archaic period.

    What I particularly appreciated was the choice of using latin as language. It is not the first time this happens, an example is Mel Gibson's The Passion, but in The Passion the pronunciation that was used was the scolastic one, which was developed in the middle ages (and I personally know that from my high-school studies of the language). In Il Primo Re they managed to use the original pronunciation of latin, and I believe probably they adopted an archaic vocabulary and sintax, which is admirable.

    Criticisms can be drawn: the final climax is not that huge as the build up suggests (let's not forget italian films have a much more limited budget), it doesn't manage to be as thematically deep as the films I've mentioned earlier and sometimes it drastically shifts to being an action movie. I personally acknowledge these negatives, but still feel that the positive aspects outweight the negative ones. This film is so far unique in italian cinema, it definitely attempts at being something new, and therefore I think it deserves consideration
    helpful•85
    25
    • Come-and-Review
    • Jan 31, 2019

    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • January 31, 2019 (Italy)
    • Countries of origin
      • Italy
      • Belgium
    • Official sites
      • Official site (Belgium)
      • Official site (Italy)
    • Language
      • Latin
    • Also known as
      • Romulus & Remus: The First King
    • Filming locations
      • Manziana, Rome, Lazio, Italy
    • Production companies
      • Groenlandia
      • Rai Cinema
      • Gapbusters
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Box office

    Edit
    • Budget
      • €8,000,000 (estimated)
    • Gross worldwide
      • $2,440,478
    See detailed box office info on IMDbPro

    Technical specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      2 hours 3 minutes
    • Color
      • Color
    • Sound mix
      • Dolby Digital
    • Aspect ratio
      • 2.35 : 1

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