Sebastiane

"Sebastiane"

A Homoerotic Epic

Amos Lassen

I understand that when Derek Jarman's "Sebastiane" was released in 1976 it caused quite uproar. It is not like a regular movie and is more of a fantasy that is soaked with homoerotic and sadomasochistic imagery which is played out against the beautiful Sardinian coast. The dialog is in Latin and it adds to the sense of mystery of the film. Hovering over the film is a sense of sexual desire and yearning. There is also a lot of bondage and torture. In fact, Leonardo Treviglio who plays Sebastiane, is dressed in a loin cloth and hanged by his wrists and flogged, burned, laid out spread-eagle under a burning sun and ultimately lanced with arrows. The lines between pleasure and pain are blurred as is the difference between lust and longing.
Derek Jarman is a visual artist and the film has more in common with Sebastiane's paintings than it does with his life. The film has to do more with sex than it does with history. The approach to homosexuality is interesting. No one is labeled or called homosexual and in the beginning sex seems to be depoliticized. There are acts and, as we know, acts are not, in themselves, political. The film is not predatory or accusative. Sebastiane is killed because of the lust of Severus who he refuses. But lust is not condemned in the film either--Anthony and Adrian are open lovers and there is a great deal of male nudity.
The movie is a lyrical love poem and it is beautiful to look at. The love/hate affair between Sebastiane and Severus is realistic as Jarman focuses on style over substance. Instead of a straightforward narrative, we have a contemplative poem of a homo-socio society where there are no visible women and men are allowed to be intimate with one another.
Again, this is not a movie that will appeal to everyone but what this movie did do was to open the doors to more open filmmaking in which audiences can see what they want.

After reading other reviews and noting their conflicting opinions I decided to judge this for myself. After I got past the rather silly openning scenes of a roman orgy which places sebastiane's exile into context, the film certainly held my attention to its conclusion. The important thing to remember when approaching this one is first the context as to when it was filmed. This is the mid-70s and a raging gay porno it isn't. Although the homoerotic relationships are evident, they in no way differ from any male-only group thrown together for an extensive period of time. Sebastiane's visions of God and his Christian beliefs drive his revulsion not of male-male sex solely, but of any sexual conduct, whether hetero or homosexual. I firmly believe that if his tormenters were female, he still would have rejected their sexual advances just as strongly. The other thing to keep in mind is that in presenting this story of exiles on a barren island, the director engages in long, expansive and sometimes boring shots of the landscape or characters. The motive appears to be to heighten the sense of abandonment and desolation, physically, mentally and of course spiritually. The climax of the mayrterdom of the hero is silent, graphic and touching.

I must admit that I was very pleased to rediscover this movie remastered on DVD. I first rented the movie about twenty years ago. The plot is rather slow, but it has features that made it very appealing to me. It's an historical movie (the latter years of Saint Sebastian's life). It is one of the very first gay-themed movies showing male nudity. I do not agree with an X rating, and I remember when I first saw it as a kid, I was a bit disappointed regading the eroticism of this movie. Of course there is a homo-erotic tension, but again, much was left to our imagination. It was not exactly what a randy college student was looking for.

Luckily, things change and so do the spectacle with which we see and interpret things. The movie is definetely unique - a difficult and slow plot enriched by an often non eloquent dialogue in Latin (with English accent/pronunciation). The actors do not come from a theatre academy, but still appear to do well. It's a low budget movie, and yet the natural beauty of Sardinia (where the movie was filmed) adds to the somehow 'naturalistic' video.

It's an intellectual movie belonging to a somehow cognitive underground genre, which may please those who are attracted by a fusion of ancient cultures, peculiar erotocism, and still (by nature and cognition) have a progressive mindset.

Sebastiane (1976), is a supposedly landmark film, I would have to disagree. I don't understand where all the praise comes from. There is certainly a measure of legitimacy in it, but it is lost in all the nonsense that must be an attempt at passing this film off as "art" (in 1976) rather than what it really is: a very soft (very very soft) core porn movie.

It purports to depict the martyred fourth century Roman soldier Sebastiane, who was later both canonized as Saint Sebastian and revered as an enduring gay icon.

Even though the film dialogue is supposedly that of ancient Latin, you can still tell that there are a number of performers who did not even bother to attend Acting 101. The little thongs that the men wear (and often do not) is little more than window dressing for the purile interests of the film. Long slow motion shots of Sebastiane, naked, bathing in water he dumps on his own head is painfully dull.

I've got nothing against nudity - heaven knows that - but for pete's sake, even if there's nudity, let's have a decent story and competent actors. This has neither.

If we're watching this film so that we can see men's hoo ha's then fine, let's call it what it is. If we're watching this for a story - don't bother.

I'm so very tired of reviewers praising films as "groundbreaking" and calling them "cinema verite" when really what they mean is "amateurish" and "badly acted". There's lots of videos out on YouTube that are far better.

The only reason I got this film was I read that Peter Hinwood (Rocky from Rocky Horror Picture Show) was in it. He is. For about three seconds in the first scene - no dialogue at all.

Boring waste of time.

.............but not, so much, for the mind.


DON'T MISUNDERSTAND,
this is a great film, but honestly speaking, I think this film is most notable simply as being a single product of
Derek Jarman's genius; not as being a distinctive masterwork, in itself. If you want to speak in terms
of advancement/positive representation in homosexually themed art,
this is the gold star winner. Otherwise, the visuals are the only thing that makes this movie noteworthy.

Jarman's Sebastiane is a genuine visual delight. Within this film lies a
remarkable portrait of the masculine condition (strength, weakness, beauty, intimidation, domination). The brute masculinity of the soldiers is smartly juxtaposed with the arid harshess of the desert in which they are exiled. As men void of females, they are like any other lifeform that is subjected
to the extremes of the desert: survive on what is provided or perish therein.

This lofty theme, however, is undermined by poor acting,
questionable historical references, and latin pronunciation (OH MY GOD, THE LATIN!!) that sounds like a Pig Latin translation
of a Shakespeare manuscript (my latin professor would have
gone into cardiac arrest after 2 minutes).

HOWEVER (!!!!)............................

NONE OF THIS takes away from the brilliance of this film. I actually believe this is one of the most beautiful films
ever made. There is surgical dilligence applied to the cinematography. Panoramic sweeps and simple elements like
close-ups of insects are used to give this movie a smooth, lyrical, and almost hallucinagenic effect.

But be aware,
this film is strictly for visual pleasure: the bodies, the desert panorama, etc. Any desire you may have for anything more profound will certainly go disappointed. A zealous attempt
was made to produce an intelligent film, but it failed in
delivery.This movie is a brilliant example of Jarman's sense of art.
It is not his best work, but at the same time, it is pleasing to watch.

Highly recommendable.