Written by Derek Jarman And Paul Humfress And James Whaley
Directed by Derek Jarman And Paul Humfress
Sebastian: "His beauty is enhanced by his anger. It is his anger which is divine. His punishments are like Christ's promise. He takes me in his arm and caresses my bleeding body. I want to be with him. I love him."
I'm not gonna lie. What made me want to seek out this movie was an account I follow on Twitter, which posted a few images of this film. I was vaguely familiar of it's existence but those image got my attention and I decided to seek it out. I'm really glad that I did.
There was a time in cinema that really felt daring and a time where sexual boundaries were pushed, for the better and sometimes worse. This film certainly pushed boundaries. A historical story about a real life saint in a very unashamedly BDSM style film.
The saint in question being Sebastian (Leonardo Treviglio). Yes, the guy whose most associated imagery involved him being tied up and shot with arrows. An image that would also see out the end of this particular movie. It's what happened that led to that event that warranted the most attention.
Our titular saintly protagonist started off as a member of the Emperor Diocletian's (Robert Medley) personal guard. Sebastian's good nature would quickly backfire on him when his attempts to save one of Emperor's catamites from being strangled by one of his bodyguards resulted in him being exiled. I guess you really can be too nice for your good after all.
Anyways, Sebastian ended up exiled to a remote coastal garrison and reduced in rank to private. His sublimination of desire for men went into pacifism and being a good Christian man. Unfortunately for Sebastian, he also became the object of lust for commanding officer Severus (Barney James). Spurning Severus's advances also ended badly for Sebastian.
For the majority of the movie, Sebastian's naked, tied up, whipped, groped, generally tortured and mocked by Severus and other men before the inevitable death. The only character who showed any kindness to Sebastian was fellow officer, Justin (Richard Warwick) but that did nothing to change the handsome pacifist's unfortunate fate.
In between the cruel treatment of Sebastian was a love story between two soldiers Adrian (Ken Hicks) and Anthony (Janusz Romanov). They're not the most kind towards Sebastian but this film accommodated their story particularly well. As for Severus, I ain't got no sympathy for that guy.
- Fans of The Rocky Horror Picture Show should appreciate the opening sequence featuring Peter Hinwood, Nell Campbell, and Patricia Quinn.
- Apparently the reason why there was so much nudity in this film was because they couldn't afford the costumes, according to Derek Jarman. Yeah, I'm sure that was it.
- This was also the first non porn movie to show erect penises throughout.
- Sebastian danced a lot in this movie (for God) and quite seductively as well.
- Given it's subject matter, it's not surprising it's gotten some censorship before it's eventual physical release.
- Chronology: Set third century AD, Rome. The film is also in Latin from start to finish.
Sebastiane definitely feels like the sort of movie you'd struggle to get made nowadays and if it did, it would have a very niche but appreciated appeal. It's certainly a triumph with unabashed nudity but some rather good performances. There's something utterly enchanting about Leonardo Treviglio throughout the film as the handsome pacifist in question.
Rating: 8 out of 10
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