Aishwarya Rai's first Hollywood movie, 'The Last Legion', is a period adventure thriller set in the Rome of fifth century.
Directed by Doug Lefler, the movie stars Colin Firth, Ben Kingsley, Aishwarya Rai , child actor Thomas Sangster and Peter Mullan.
'The Last Legion' is based on Valerio Massimo Manfredi's bestseller book of the same name. The story is loosely inspired from political events of the 5th century Europe but does not claim to present historical facts. In short, it is a work of fiction.
It is Rome in 476AD. Twelve-year-old Romulus Augustus is about to be crowned the next emperor of Rome.
On the eve of the crowning ceremony, the Barbarian general Odoacer arrives in Rome to demand the power of the Roman Empire, in exchange for his decade-long support to the Roman legions. This demand is refused by Orestes, patrician and father of the young Caesar.
Ambrosinus (Ben Kingsley), the shaman, mentor and tutor to Romulus, predicts danger. Thereafter, Aurelius (Colin Firth) is appointed as the personal guard of Romulus.
But Odoacer and his army of Goths storm the city and kill Orestes and capture Romulus along with Ambrosinus. The two are taken to the island fortress of Capri.
Aurelius, who is alive, and a small group of his men then join forces to free Romulus from captivity. They are accompanied by a mysterious Byzantine warrior, who later turns out to be a beautiful woman named Mira (Aishwarya Rai).
Aurelius and Mira could make a deadly combination for their enemies. But there are things that they have to sort out between themselves first.
Mira and Aurelius combine their forces and manage to free Romulus and Ambrosinus. The young Romulus hands over the mythical sword of Caesar to Aurelius. When the group arrives on shore, they learn that the Byzantines have joined forces with the Goths. The enemy has gotten stronger.
Now, there is only one option open in front of them. They must undertake an arduous journey to reach the one legion still loyal to Rome - the ninth legion in Britannia.
Together they embark on a new journey, an arduous and dangerous trek North in search of the last legion. On this journey Romulus discovers a father figure in his protector Aurelius.
Aishwarya Rai and Colin Firth had to undergo training in sword fighting and horse riding before shooting this film.
'The Last Legion' has been shot in Tunisia and Slovakia. The film premiered in Abu Dhabi in April this year. The movie releases in the US on August 17.
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