- When was the last time you were home? - Two years, 264 days, and this morning.
Blessed Father, watch over my wife and son with a ready sword.
Whisper to them I live only to hold them again.
For all else is dust and air. Whisper to them I live only to hold them again.
For all else is dust and air.
Don't die.
You'll meet them again.
Not yet.
No. They will clean it. Wait and see.
Don't die.
They'll feed you to the lions.
They are worth more than we are.
Better now?
Clean. You see?
Proximo.
My old friend.
Every day is a great day when you are here.
Today is your most fortunate day.
Those giraffes you sold me.
- They won't mate. - What?
They just walk around eating and not mating.
You sold me queer giraffes.
- I want my money back. - Not a chance.
- I do special price for you. - On what?
Have you seen my new stock? Come and see them.
Do any of them fight? I've got a match coming up.
Some are good for fighting, others for dying.
You need both, I think.
Get up.
- What's your trade? - I was a hunter.
Oh, no. I bought him from a salt mine in Carthage.
Sit down.
Mark of the legion.
- Deserter. - Maybe so. But who cares?
- He's a Spaniard. - I'll take six.
- For 1,000. - 1,000?
The Numidian alone is worth 2,000.
- These slaves are rotten. - It all adds to the flavor.
No. No, no, no. Wait. Wait.
We can negotiate.
I'll give you 2,000. And four for the beasts.
That's 5,000 for an old friend.
Come on. How long does it take to get into my own house?
I am Proximo.
I shall be closer to you for the next few days,
which will be last of your miserable lives, than that bitch of a mother
that brought you screaming into this world.
I did not pay good money for you for your company.
I paid it so that I could profit from your death.
And as your mother was there at your beginning,
so I shall be there at your end.
And when you die, and die you shall,
your transition shall be to the sound of...
Gladiators, I salute you.
Red.
Yellow.
Good.
- Red. - Red.
Spaniard.
That's enough for the moment.
His time will come.
Next.
Spaniard,
why don't you fight? We all have to fight.
I don't fight.
I shouldn't be here. I'm a scribe, I write down words.
I can speak seven languages.
Good. Tomorrow, you can scream in seven languages.
Perhaps the scribe will be the one who wins his freedom.
Freedom?
What do I have to do?
You go in the arena and you kill me.
And him.
And the Numidian, and the deserter.
And a hundred more.
And when there's no more to fight, you're free.
I can't do that.
But I can.
Is that the sign of your gods?
Will that not anger them?
The gods favor you.
Red is the gods' color.
You will need their help today.
Still leading with the German?
The crowd love a barbarian.
Besides that, he's making me rich.
Has that Numidian fought before?
No, first time.
And that one? Laborer? Soldier?
He's a Spaniard. He might as well be a eunuch for what he brings to the ring.
500 sesterti the Numidian and Spaniard team makes it through.
And 1,000 that the Numidian makes it through alone.
Are you asking me to bet against my own man?
- It's unethical. - What if I make it 2,000?
Some of you are thinking you won't fight.
Some that you can't fight.
They all say that, until they're out there.
- Listen. - Kill. Kill. Kill.
Thrust this into another man's flesh,
and then they will applaud and love you for that.
You may begin to love them for that.
Ultimately, we're all dead men.
Sadly, we cannot choose how, but we can decide how we meet that end,
in order that we are remembered
as men.
On the left, draw your shields.
On the right, draw your swords.
Kill, kill, kill...
Pair them up, red with yellow.
Next.
Go away.
He enters Rome like a conquering hero.
- But what has he conquered? - Give him time, Gracchus. He's young.
I think he could do very well.
For Rome or for you?
Go to your mother, Lucius. It's what she'd like.
- Lucius. - Mother.
- Hail, Caesar. - Senators.
Rome greets her new emperor.
Your loyal subjects bid you welcome, Highness.
Thank you, Falco. And for the loyal subjects.
- I trust they weren't too expensive. - Caesar.
- Gracchus. - Rome rejoices in your return, Caesar.
There are many matters that require your attention.
To order. To order.
For your guidance, Caesar, the Senate has prepared a series of protocols
to begin addressing the many problems in the city.
Beginning with basic sanitation for the Greek quarter,
to combat the plague which is already springing up there.
So, if Caesar...
Don't you see, Gracchus?
That's the very problem, isn't it?
My father spent all his time at study.
At books and learning and philosophy.
He spent his twilight hours reading scrolls from the Senate.
And all the while, the people were forgotten.
But the Senate is the people, sire.
Chosen from among the people, to speak for the people.
I doubt many of the people eat so well as you do, Gracchus.
Or have such splendid mistresses, Gaius. I think I understand my own people.
Then, perhaps Caesar will be so good as to teach us.
Out of his own extensive experience.
I call it love.
I am their father. The people are my children.
I shall hold them to my bosom and embrace them.
Have you ever embraced someone dying of plague, sire?
No, but if you interrupt me again, I assure you that you shall.
Senator, my brother is very tired.
Leave your list with me.
Caesar shall do all that Rome requires.
My lady, as always, your lightest touch commands obedience.
Who are they to lecture me?
Commodus, the Senate has its uses.
What uses? All they do is talk.
It should be just you and me, and Rome.
Don't even think it. There's always been a Senate.
Rome has changed.
It takes an emperor to rule an empire.
Of course, but leave the people their...
Illusions?
Traditions.
My father's war against the barbarians...
He said it himself, it achieved nothing.
- But the people loved him. - The people always love victories.
Why? They didn't see the battles.
- What do they care about Germania? - They care about the greatness of Rome.
The greatness of Rome.
Well, what is that?
It's an idea. Greatness.
- Greatness is a vision. - Exactly. A vision.
Do you not see, Lucilla?
I will give the people a vision of Rome, and they'll love me for it.
And they'll soon forget the tedious sermonizing of a few dry, old men.
I will give the people the greatest vision of their lives.
White and red wine for your drinking pleasure.
Games.
150 days of games.
- He's cleverer than I thought. - Clever.
The whole of Rome would be laughing at him,
if they weren't so afraid of his Praetorians.
Fear and wonder, a powerful combination.
You really think the people are going to be seduced by that?
I think he knows what Rome is. Rome is the mob.
He'll conjure magic for them, and they'll be distracted.
He'll take away their freedom and still they'll roar.
The beating heart of Rome
is not the marble of the Senate.
It's the sand of the Colosseum.
He'll bring them death,
and they will love him for it.
And they will love him for it.
Spaniard.
All you do is kill, kill, kill.
The crowd don't want a butcher, they want a hero.
You want them to keep coming back,
so don't just hack them to pieces. Remember, you are an entertainer.
Spaniard.
So entertain.
Are you not entertained?
Is this not why you are here?
Spaniard.
What do you want?
Girl?
Boy?
- You sent for me? - Yes, I did.
You're good, Spaniard, but you're not that good.
- You could be magnificent. - I'm required to kill, so I kill.
That is enough.
That's enough for the provinces, but not for Rome.
The young emperor has arranged a series of spectacles
to commemorate his father, Marcus Aurelius.
I find that amusing,
since it was Marcus Aurelius,
the wise, the all-knowing Marcus Aurelius,
that closed us down.
So, finally, after five years of scratching a living
in flea-infested villages,
we're finally going back to where we belong.
The Colosseum.
You should see the Colosseum, Spaniard.
50,000 Romans
watching every movement of your sword.
Willing you to make that killer blow.
The silence before you strike,
and the noise afterwards,
it rises... rises up like...
like a storm.
As if you were the thunder god himself.
- You were a gladiator? - Yes, I was.
You won your freedom?
A long time ago, the Emperor...
presented me with a rudius. It's just a wooden sword.
A symbol of your freedom.
He touched me on the shoulder, and I was free.
- You knew Marcus Aurelius? - I did not say I knew him.
I said he touched me on the shoulder once.
You asked me what I want.
I, too, want to stand in front of the Emperor.
As you did.
Then listen to me. Learn from me.
I wasn't the best because I killed quickly.
I was the best because the crowd loved me.
Win the crowd, and you'll win your freedom.
I will win the crowd.
I will give them something they have never seen before.
So, Spaniard, we shall go to Rome together
and have bloody adventures.
And the great whore will suckle us until we are fat and happy
and can suckle no more. And then,
when enough men have died,
perhaps you will have your freedom.
Here. Use this.
It's somewhere out there.
My country, my home.
My wife is preparing food.
My daughters carry water from the river.
Will I ever see them again?
I think no.
Do you believe you'll see them again when you die?
I think so.
But then, I will die soon.
They will not die for many years.
- I'll have to wait. - But you would wait.
Of course.
You see, my wife and my son,
are already waiting for me.
You'll meet them again.
But not yet.
Not yet.
- Unless... - Not yet.
Not yet.
I see him.
- Where? - There he is.
Out.
Move. Out.
Are there any others?
Good to see you again, old friend.
Bring me fortune.
Have you ever seen anything like that before?
I didn't know men could build such things.
Win the crowd.
Get Inside. Move. Inside.
He sleeps so well because he's loved.
Come, Brother. It's late.
I will make Rome the wonder of the ages.
That is what Gracchus and his friends don't understand.
All my desires are splitting my head to pieces.
Drink this tonic.
I think the time is almost right.
I could announce the dissolution of the Senate
at the celebration to honor our father.
You think I should?
Are the people ready?
I think you need your rest now.
- Will you stay with me? - Still afraid of the dark, Brother?
Still?
Always.
- Stay with me tonight? - You know I won't.
Then kiss me.
Sleep, Brother.
Having servants who are deaf and mute at least ensures I live a little longer.
They're arresting scholars now.
Anyone who dares speak out.
Even satirists and chroniclers.
And mathematicians.
And all to feed the arena.
The Senate did not approve martial law.
This reign of terror is entirely the Praetorians'.
I'm afraid to go out after dark.
You should be more afraid of your activities during the day.
The Senate is full of his spies.
Led by that whoremaster, Falco.
But what is in his mind? That's what I trouble myself with.
He spends all his days singularly obsessed,
planning the festival to honor your father.
He neglects even the most fundamental task of government.
So just what is he planning?
And what pays for it?
These daily games are costing a fortune, yet we have no new taxes.
The future.
The future pays for it.
He's started selling the grain reserves.
This can't be true.
He is selling Rome's reserves of grain.
The people will be starving in two years.
I hope they enjoy the games.
Soon enough, they will be dead because of them.
- Rome must know this. - And how?
He's going to dissolve the Senate.
And who will tell them before it's too late?
You, Gracchus?
You, Gaius?
Will you make a speech on the floor of the Senate denouncing my brother?
And then see your family in the Colosseum?
Who'd dare?
I have been living in a prison of fear every day
because my son is heir to the throne.
He must die.