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 Sebastiane Released: 1979 Directed by Derek Jarman The titular Sebastiane is Roman guard who falls out of favor with his emperor when he tries to stop the killing of one of the emperor's male concubines (I don't know what the correct term is for that role in ancient Rome but I didn;t wnat to just say "fuckboy"). For his trespass Sebastiane is exiled and sent to live in a hot desolate place with other misfits and social rejects. Sebastiane and his fellow exhiles are under the charge of a commanding officer, Severus, who falls madly in love with him. Unfortunately Sebastiane doesn't share his affections and generally doesn't wish to participate in the seemingly pointless training exercises having become a pacifist. So for both reasons he's subjected to his Severus' cruel punishments.  So if you're at all familiar with this movie then you know it is RELENTLESSLY homoerotic. I don't exaggerate when I say this is probably the single gayest movie I have ever seen. For 1976 that's a pretty daring risk. I think even now it wouldn't slip by without some controversy. Aside from being a tragedy it's also somehow celebratory. Homosexuality and the male form are portrayed with great care and respect. Usually in films the nude male form is meant to be a source of shock or comedy. That's very much not the case here. True this fact alone was shocking in 1976 but I don't think that was ever the intention. When men aren't entirely nude they're wearing very little. Jarman has said that the lack of clothing was actually a way to get around having to make a lot of period costumes when the film's budget was very low. Incidentally that ended up working the in the movie's favor.  Front and center in this movie is the idea of desire. The officer can't stand his desire for Sebastiane. He tries to force Sebastiane to love him but it never works of course. Counter to Severus is Justin who also pines for Sebastiane but he hardly seems to notice or acknowledge this. Justin's advances are much more gentle. He often sticks up for Sebastiane who is something of an outcast among the outcasts. Particularly brutal in his treatment is Maximus. He is the avatar of toxic masculinty. He hates Sebastiane because of his pacifism and his mistaken belief that Sebastiane is a Christian. He is violent and homophopbic constantly bragging about all the sex he's had with women and the things he would do if he was able to leave exile. Many of the characters in this movie want something they can't have. Despite his homophobia he pays little attention to a pair of his fellow exiles that are very, very clearly a couple. Boredom and ennui are the other things that loom large over the film and its characters and that creates the pressure cooker that sets off the whole chain of events.  Sebastiane is quite visually striking. Its style very much resembles the early films of Nicholas Roeg, so I'd recommend it on that alone if you are a fan of his. It also uses music from Brian Eno's aptly titled album Music For Films. As it happens the music from that album was not actually made with a specific film or films in mind, but rather it was conceptually designed to sound like film scores. Pieces from this record would appear in several other films later including another film directed by Derek Jarman. Sebastiane is an interesting sort of time capsule. It exists right in the space just before the AIDS crisis when homosexuality was becoming both more visible (and is it ever visible in this film!) and more accepted. It's almost like a cultural artifact that stood on the precipice of an age we were robbed of by vitriol and bigotry (::cough Ronald Reagan::cough:: ). This is not just a great film it is a vital piece of gay culture and history. Just a heads up, if you are uncomfortable with male nudity and seeing dicks you'll want to skip this one. Previous Movies of the Month
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Sep 5, 2022 06:22
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I think I saw this at some point in college and can confirm it's both excellent and filled to the brim with dick. If that doesn't sell you on it then what the gently caress more do you want from a movie?
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Sep 7, 2022 14:51
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This sounds literally like a movie idea that's existed in my head for years (sword and sandal, very gay, in Latin) that I never thought anyone would ever make, let alone already made! I'll keep an eye out for it. And the word you're looking for is "catamite".
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Sep 8, 2022 02:40
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I watched it! Yeah that was gay as Christmas. I love how it drops you into this ornate Roman set, depraved and noisy and alien, and then strips everything back to the like Biblical simplicity of the garrison. I'm happy to watch any movie that tries for authenticity with old languages. It's always kinda risky, having your actors memorise lines in a language they don't speak, especially when it's the entire cast, and there are moments when they fumble, but on the whole it works. Maximus in particular really gets it, his Latin really flows well, even though he spends a lot of the time bullshitting. And I loved the subtitles for Agére, Oedipus!
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Sep 16, 2022 12:37
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Thank you for reminding me of this film. I haven't seen in decades but I distinctly recall the strong impact it had on younger me. Gonna ensure I do a rewatch soon!
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Sep 22, 2022 11:10
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