Sebastiane
Derek Jarman, Paul Humfress, GB 1976; Screenplay: Derek Jarman, James Whaley; Cinematography: Peter Middleton; Editing: Paul Humfress; Music: Brian Eno; Cast: Leonardo Treviglio, Barney James, Neil Kennedy, Richard Warwick, Ken Hicks. 35mm, color, 85 min. Latin with English subtitlesJarman's feature-length debut caused an immediate sensation and announced the arrival of a radical new voice in European cinema – not only was it the first movie shot entirely in Latin, but more importantly, it was the first "openly homoerotic" British production. Tilda Swinton called it "for so many, nothing short of a miracle;" as the protagonist himself puts it in the film, "the doors have been opened." For centuries, the martyrdom of the early Christian Saint Sebastian has been a favorite subject of gay artists – depicted tied to a tree, his torso pierced with arrows (Sebastian actually survived this botched execution). Jarman expands the canvas in every sense, filming in rocky, sun‑blasted Sardinian locales, using earthy period dialect, reveling in the bacchanalian excesses of bygone days, and picking up the creative torch from the recently killed (or more precisely, "martyred") Pasolini. (N.Y.)
Courtesy British Film Institute