Filmed entirely in vulgar Latin, this experimental film recounts the life of Sebastian (Leonardo Treviglio), a puritanical but beautiful Christian soldier in the Roman Imperial troops who is martyred when he refuses the homosexual advances of pagan Captain Severus (Barney James). It depicts the 4th century Roman soldier, who was later canonized as Saint Sebastian, as a revered gay icon. The film balances a cinéma vérité depiction of the everyday life of common soldiers and a visionary exploration of one man's defiant growth in faith, even as it subtly questions the nature it. But the film takes some liberties with the historical Sebastian, who was never exiled to a remote outpost, and was supposedly not killed by arrows. Emperor Diocletian (Robert Medley) ordered him killed with a second execution and he was clubbed to death. Historical facts are only a backdrop, serving the filmmakers' intention of presenting the other well known aspect of Sebastian's claim to fame: his link to homoeroticism and sadomasochism. How this relation came about historically is unclear. Some stories have it that Sebastian was homosexual himself. Others that he had to refuse the emperor's advances on the grounds of his Christian faith.
When this film was released, it was the only English-made film to have required English subtitles. "Sebastiane" works brilliantly on many levels: cinematic, psychological, spiritual, aesthetic, and political. The vividness and authenticity of the ancient world it depicts is striking. Despite an over-the-top prologue at the decadent court of Diocletian, and its strategic use of famous Renaissance paintings of St. Sebastian in the final scene, this film feels like a lived experience. Shot on location in Sardinia, every well-worn costume and dusty prop seems genuine. This film deals with some complex themes, as important now as 1,700 years ago, including the meaning of spirituality, the place of sexuality in life, and the contradictory nature of reality. Brian Eno composed the music, and Derek Jarman wrote the screenplay and directed this self-indulgent debut feature.
