In October last year, I was telling you about a movie that was bound to change the face of cinematography as we knew it. Now, in the light of recent events, I guess it's safe to say that '300', the recreation of the epic battle of the Spartans and the Persians, will probably change more things than those initially anticipated.
Directed by Zack Snyder after the graphic novel of Frank Miller, '300' depicts the battle of Thermopylae, where 300 Spartans 'stood against many', to quote from the trailer. Shot over a period of 60 days, entirely on green background screens and with a medium budget, most of which was allocated to post-production, the movie is what you would call a blood fest. It shows the 300 brave men led by King Leonidas facing the Persian army that outnumbers them by thousands, particularly dwelling on the courage, determination and abnegation of the Spartans. It is, in short, all those things that you read about in the negative reviews: racist, misogynistic, misleading and historically inaccurate. But, at the same time, it is a genuine chef d'oevre in terms of realization and overall feel.
What most people overlook when they review or simply discuss '300' is that fact that the director, Snyder, has never envisioned it as a history lesson. This is not a film about winning or losing, about the good and the bad (even if, at times, it does give out that impression) or about right and wrong. '300' is meant to be an ode to violence (mind you, you're not to take that literally), a movie that depicts the way that battle was later imagined in the minds of the people who lived in those times, but who didn't even get close to the battle field. It's the creation and development of a myth.
'300' was conceived as an exercise of the imagination (to put it that way) - therefore, its bleak and almost surreal atmosphere, the mythological proportions of the two leaders of the armies, Leonidas and Xerxes, and the impression that you just stepped into a video game which, however, does its best to include you, the 'player'. This is exactly what one should bear in mind when entering the theater... if you expect to learn historical facts or some moral lesson, you shall be utterly disappointed.
This digression was not included here just for the sake of wasting your time with useless talk. In a press statement released yesterday, government officials in Iran announced that they regard '300' as a declaration of war... coming from Hollywood and, implicitly, the US! Totally disregarding the fact that, in movies, what you see is what you
don't get and that the story on the silver screen will never be true to facts, even when it claims to be so, several MPs have already filed petitions to the Ministry of Culture to have the movie banned.
Sure, you'll say, banning a movie is not something new. But claiming that it is a direct and intentional insult to a country's history and cultural heritage is. Even more, the media and all the Iranian web blogs, have declared '300' a 'cultural and psychological warfare' that aims to show that Iran, quote, 'has long been the source of evil, and modern Iran's ancestors are the ugly murderous savages you see [in the movie]'. All this is being said in the context in which the film studio and distributor, Warner Bros., is advertising it as 'a work of fiction... loosely based on a historical event'. In a press release, Warner added for more clarity: 'It is not meant to disparage an ethnicity or a culture or make any sort of political statement'.
While both parties (Iranian officials and Warner) are right to some extent or another, maybe we should stop and think things through. Or, better yet, take a stand based on our own judgment. I know movies can lead to changes, that they can be political or critical or whatever, but let's just spare approximately two hours of our time and go and see '300' - that would give you first-hand information and you wouldn't have to listen to what others are saying any more. It's now running in US theaters.
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