The divisive filmmaker talks to Variety about his new film “The Last Photograph,” haters, losing the DC superhero universe and the lack of movie sex.
    • undeadotter ( undeadotter@sopuli.xyz ) English
      6·
      2 months ago

      Yeah I feel like his line of reasoning is kinda flawed.

      When we showed “300” at the Berlin Film Festival this exact same thing happened. There was immediate discourse around the movie, and everyone booed and walked out. It was our first time showing the movie and we were like, “What the fuck.” They were saying it was “a disaster,” “the worst movie ever” and a “fascist” movie. Then we had a press conference where they were asking me all these questions, like, “Are you a fascist filmmaker?” “300” is one of the gayest movies ever made. I always go, “Look, there are few movies where people come in straight and come out gay, and ‘300’ is one of them.”

      Like beyond individual fascists/Republicans/whoever being gay, homoeroticism can be very entangled with fascism, there’s a lot of emphasis placed on ideal male bodies both in the US at the moment and historically. I couldn’t find the exact article I was thinking of, but I think this essay goes into the history quite a bit:

      [gay men’s] collaboration with Nazism presented a paradox: while Nazism exterminated gay people, it also glorified men and masculinity. Even among those with only a superficial knowledge of history, Nazism — also known as German fascism — is associated with male power. The Nazi soldier, the elite of a totalitarian society, embodies performative masculinity in a literal sense. His actions and image convey a specific cultural understanding of masculinity: machismo, militarism, heroism, and whiteness. He is both cruel and unapproachable, yet he can also evoke unbridled sexual desire — as if he has just stepped off the set of an erotic photo shoot or gay pornography film.

      • Nangijala ( Nangijala@feddit.dk ) English
        3·
        2 months ago

        Tbf, 300 was based on a comicbook and was very faithful to it. Many shots in the movie are more or less copy paste from the comic page. Which is impressive, ngl.

        I’m always a fan when movie directors try and translate stylish comic book panels into scenes in movies. It isn’t always as easy as one might think.