La Gran Conquista
2012 · 18m · España
Directed by Iván Hermés
Genres: drama, historical
Tones: contemplative, mythic
Alexander the Great travels the world conquering nations towards India and meets Diogenes, a philosopher who has renounced all material possessions and cares only about conquering himself.
Picked by Margot
The scouts
Everyone expects Alexander to be the conqueror, but Hermés flips the entire frame—the real conquest is internal, philosophical, almost absurd. It's a historical premise that actually *thinks*, which is rarer than it should be.
The formal restraint here is exquisite: two figures, mythic dialogue, and a 12-year gap between production and now feels right for work this considered. Hermés situates the encounter between Alexander and Diogenes in a lineage stretching from classical drama through to contemporary philosophical cinema, executed with the kind of measured pacing that rewards close attention.
The single decision to shoot this as pure philosophical confrontation—stripping away spectacle and battle—hinges entirely on performance discipline and the choice to let silence do the work. That restraint, sustained across 18 minutes on what's clearly a modest scale, is what elevates this from period piece to something genuinely contemplative.