Snow, hunger and Parthian patrols stand between one messenger and the survival of a stranded Roman force in The Legion, a 2020 historical adventure from director Jose Magan.
What is The Legion about?
A body of Roman soldiers is wasting away, cut off and far from any help. Their last hope is Noreno, a man of half-Roman blood, who is handed a task nobody else can be spared for: get out, find allies and bring relief back before it is too late. His road leads over the frozen heights of Armenia, where Parthian riders watch the passes and a single traveller is easy to spot against the white. He has to outlast the cold, keep ahead of the men hunting him and never stop moving, because each lost day is paid for by the comrades waiting behind him.
About the cast
Mickey Rourke heads the credited cast, followed by Bai Ling, Joaquim de Almeida and Vladimir Kulich. Maksim Matveev, Bosco Hogan, Redmond Michael and Ciaran O'Grady complete the principal line-up. Jose Magan is the credited director of the picture.
Context & significance
The Legion is a co-production between Spain and the United States and is filed under action, adventure and historical drama. Its backdrop is the long rivalry between Rome and the Parthian empire, with Armenia as the contested ground lying between the two powers. Rather than staging a set-piece battle, the story follows the pattern of a survival trek: one man, hostile terrain, and a deadline measured in the lives of others. That gives the film the shape of a chase across mountains more than a war epic, and the running time of 96 minutes keeps it compact. Viewers with an interest in the ancient world may note that the Parthians, a dynasty rooted in Iranian history, appear here as the opposing side as seen from the Roman camp. Audience reception on release was cool, so it is best approached as a modest sword-and-snow adventure.
Watching The Legion on Ktime
The Legion is available on K-Time with both a Persian dub and Persian subtitles, so it can be followed in Farsi either way. Reading this page is open to everyone; playing the film needs a K-Time account login. K-Time is built for Persian-speaking viewers abroad, with a full Farsi interface on television, phone and the web.