The First King: Birth of an Empire

The First King: Birth of an Empire (Il primo re), released as Romulus v Remus: The First King in the UK, is a 2019 Italian historical drama film directed by Matteo Rovere. It stars Alessandro Borghi and Alessio Lapice.

Set in the 8th century BC, it is about the shepherd brothers Romulus and Remus and the founding of Rome. All dialogue is spoken in an early form of Latin. The movie had a budget of 7.5 million euros.

The film was theatrically released in Italy on 31 January 2019 by 01 Distribution.

Plot
In Old Latium in 753 BC, a flash flood causes the two shepherd brothers Romulus and Remus to be stranded and captured as slaves in Alba Longa. They are able to rebel and free the other Latin and Sabine prisoners and take the Vesta priestess Satnei, who carries with her the sacred fire, as hostage. In a conflict concerning the injured Romulus, Remus ends up killing the Latin leader and becomes the new leader of the tribe.

The group face and defeat a warrior clan and Remus is appointed king by the surviving old men and women of their pagus. During a sacrifice, Satnei predicts that one of the two brothers will become a great king and build an empire larger than what can be imagined, but to do so he will have to kill the other brother. The tribe assume that the prophecy means that Romulus will end up dead for the sake of his brother's greatness.

Remus refuses to accept a divine order that requires him to kill his brother. He extinguishes the sacred fire of Vesta, kills an old priest and leaves Satnei helpless in the middle of a forest. Returning to the pagus, Remus degrades all the inhabitants into slaves. Romulus regains his health and confronts Remus about his actions. Remus, regretful, goes to find Satnei, who while dying from having been attacked by wild animals tells him that sparing Romulus now means that it is Remus who will end up dead at the hands of Romulus.

Romulus is able to rekindle the sacred fire and becomes the new leader of the pagus. He appoints a young woman to watch over the fire so it remains lit, thereby establishing the first Vestal. Remus, trying to escape the prophecy, heads for the Tiber with a group of men, but is attacked by Alban cavalry and only saved by the tribe of Romulus. Remus then claims the tribe for himself, and threatening to extinguish the sacred flame is confronted by his brother. Remus induces his brother to kill him so that the prophecy can be fulfilled. On his deathbed he makes peace with his brother, recognizes him as his king, and tells him to establish a city on the other side of the river.

The tribe cross the Tiber and burn Remus' body on a pyre. Romulus swears to build the world's largest and most powerful city on his brother's ashes. He gives the city the name of Rome.

During the end credits, an animated map shows the expansion of the territory subject to Rome up to its peak under the emperor Trajan in 117.

Themes
The film portrays a struggle between power and pietas, as represented by the two brothers. Ultimately, power is shown to become order only when submitted to the will of the gods. The director had no intention to comment on contemporary politics, but said that the myth's theme of love and hubris "talks to us through symbols that we can interpret in the light of our current time".

Cast

 * Alessandro Borghi: Remus
 * Alessio Lapice: Romulus
 * Fabrizio Rongione: Lars
 * Massimiliano Rossi: Tefarie
 * Tania Garribba: Satnei
 * Lorenzo Gleijeses: Purtnass
 * Vincenzo Crea: Elaxantre
 * Max Malatesta: Veltur
 * Fiorenzo Mattu: Mamercus
 * Gabriel Montesi: Adieis
 * Antonio Orlando: Erennis
 * Vincenzo Pirrotta: Cai
 * Michael Schermi: Aranth
 * Ludovico Succio: Marce
 * Martinus Tocchi: Lubces
 * Marina Occhionero: Acca Larentia
 * Nina Fotaras: Ramtha
 * Emilio De Marchi: Testa di Lupo
 * Luca Elmi: Maccus

Production
The idea to make the film in archaic Latin came from a desire to make the characters sound ancestral, which would help the audience to attune themselves to the story. The language was created by a team from the University Guglielmo Marconi led by professor Luca Alfieri, with the aid of Francesco Pirozzi and Beatrice Grieco. The team studied archaic Latin and "fleshed it out" with help from the reconstructed Proto-Indo-European language.

Two visual influences were the films Valhalla Rising (2009) and Apocalypto (2006).

Distribution
Originally set for a release at the end of 2018, the film was distributed in Italian cinemas by 01 Distribution beginning on 31 January 2019. The film had grossed 2.1 million euros after the first three weeks of screening.

It was released in North America on DVD and Blu-ray Disc by Well Go USA Entertainment on 24 September 2019, with both original audio and an English-dubbed version, while in the United Kingdom by Signature Entertainment on 13 January 2020.