300

[magid]

I had this huge long post about the weekend mostly finished, and stupid Lotus Notes died before I saved it. So it's going to be shorter posts instead, and not composed in Notes any more!

Last night I saw 300 at the IMAX theater in the Jordan's furniture store* (the Reading one). I hadn't known they had a theater, nor any of the other attractions I'd not anticipate at a furniture store (Time on a flying trapeze, anyone?).

The movie is based on a graphic novel about the battle of Thermopylae, when King Leonidas with 300 Spartans (and some assorted other Greeks) held off the myriad fighting forces of Xerxes Persian army. It's a thrilling story of sacrifice for the ideals of freedom and self-determination. The Spartans will die to preserve their freedom from Persian overlords. And their sacrifice brought the Greeks to work together to defeat the Persians in later battles. Let freedom ring!

Except, of course, that the Spartans had slaves. Lots of them, enough to keep the city running, given that free men were soldiers. So it's more like "liberty and justice for all," except if you don't own land, or are the wrong color, or gender, and so on. And while they mention at the beginning that all deformed babies are discarded (read: killed), but that's more for a later plot point than as an indictment of their not-so-totally free society.

(And there's the question of freedom from v. freedom to: all of these free men were forced to be soldiers, no options for blacksmiths, sculptors, or philosophers.)

Still, it was interesting to see the juxtaposition with the military play I saw Thursday, Henry V, which, despite the different endings, had many of the same themes (and idealizations). And even then, though the endings are different, they're still both about victories, just in different forms, with this loss at Thermopylae being the beginning of the Greeks rallying, the beginning of the Persians' losses, the beginning of Greek nationalism.

There were many historical inaccuracies, of course, but the spectacle was impressive, with Xerxes' throne, massive battles, stunning violence. They used two effects particularly, blood drops spattering in battle, and beheading. I think it would've bothered me more had the screen not been so large and so close (we were in the second row, so the screen towered above us); it was so obviously larger than life that I could keep it out of the reality part of the brain. (I have not seen so many pores so up close and personal before :-).

I had questions afterward. Xerxes being hit in battle is a turning point (being less than godly, bleeding), but the way he's shown, he's pierced up the wazoo (er, no wazoos were actually shown, but it was a lot of piercing), so presumably he's bled before. Not in a military situation, perhaps, but blood and pain and all, so I have to assume that in his mind, gods can be pained, but only if they choose it. Or something like that. I didn't really find it believable that someone who's conquesred that much of the known world would be so bedecked and bejeweled in a way that more suggested 'kept man' than 'powerful ruler'. Sure, tall, very deep voice, it all helps, but it still didn't feel spot on.

If the Spartans abhor any deformity, why were the mystics at the top of the mountain who were so powerful portrayed as bubbling-skinned deformed lepers? It was visceral, but didn't make sense that they'd have that power with such infirmities, compared to the rest of their society.

Oh, and on the plus side, it was nice to have a strong woman character. Of course, she was the token woman, the one needed to say the line about coming back with or on the shield, but at least she was strong-willed (and strong of arm as well).

I liked it, though it is not for those who cannot stand seeing violence or blood.


* For those buying furniture soon: they've got a special: buy $furniture now, and if the Red Sox win the World Series this year, the furniture's free.

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[magid.livejournal.com]

Er, that should be torc.