Sebastiane (1976)

Directors:

Paul Humfress
Derek Jarman

Writers:

Paul Humfress (writer)
Derek Jarman (writer)

Release Date:

16 October 2008 (Germany)

Genre:

Drama | History | Thriller

Plot:

300 A.D. : the Roman Sebastianus is exiled to a remote outpost populated exclusively by men. Weakened by their desires...

Plot Keywords:

Homosexual | Centurion | Roman | Armor | Horse

Cast

Barney James	...	Severus
Neil Kennedy	...	Maximus
Leonardo Treviglio	...	Sebastiane
Richard Warwick	...	Justin
Donald Dunham	...	Claudius
Daevid Finbar	...	Julian
Ken Hicks	...	Adrian
Lindsay Kemp	...	Dancer
Steffano Massari	...	Marius
Janusz Romanov	...	Anthony
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Peter Hinwood	...	Emperor's guest
Gerald Incandela	...	Leopard Boy
Jordan	...	Emperor's guest
Robert Medley	...	Emperor Diocletian
Philip Sayer	...	Emperor's guest

Runtime:

90 min

Country:

UK

Language:

Latin

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Australia:R | Hong Kong:III | New Zealand:R18 | UK:18 | USA:X

Filming Locations:

Cala Domestica, Sardinia, Italy

Company:

Cinegate Ltd.

Trivia:

The only English film ever to have been released in Britain with English subtitles.

Goofs:

Anachronisms: In one scene, the soldiers are seen playing with a modern Frisbee, the logo can even be seen as one of the soldiers catches it.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Post Cards from America (1994)

9/10

Not being overly familiar with Bible stories or Christian history (and the fact that the opening rolling titles are impossible to read), the factuality of this film will escape me. But Jarman is a visual artist, and his film has more in common with the many paintings of Sebastian than it does with factual storytelling. Jarman's ornate decor can sometimes feel dull and bland -- his films can seem lifeless, bogged down by the set decoration. This calls to mind "Velvet Goldmine," a complex film I didn't care for, even though I love Todd Haynes; I want to like Jarman -- I love his books -- and this is the first film of his that I've been actively enthusiastic about. It has much more to do with sex than history; and it's apolitical and political at the same time.

Consider the film's approach to homosexuality. No one is defined as being a homosexual, so that at first seems like a de-politicization of sex -- all there are are acts, and acts are not political. But at the same time, it's acts that are disdained and made illegal, and without the "political" approach to defining (and thereby defending) people as homosexuals, it leaves the acts open to censorship and condemnation -- politicization. As a film itself, though, it is not pedantic or accusatory -- in fact, Sebastian is killed, it seems, because of the lust of Severus, who he refuses. Like the Christian God who Sebastian loves and sees as more beautiful than Adonis, Severus wants Sebastian. But it isn't just condemning lust, either -- Anthony and Adrian are openly lovers, and the abundance of male nudity, and the eroticism of it by Jarman, could hardly be called prudish. In fact, there is a scene at night of the men grabbing each other, their dark-lit bodies, and the soldier pressing his near-naked, muscled body on his lover, that still seems shocking in its passion today.

It's more like a lyrical tone poem, and Brian Eno's New Age-y score goes well with that. Jarman isn't a bully, and when the crucifying comes around he doesn't bludgeon us -- first we see a close-up of his face, as arrows pierce through Sebastian's skin, silently with the exception of the wind, and Jarman gives us one final distorted image to meditate on the death of the one we can't have. 9/10