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21st Century Myth Making Film is the mythology of the new millennium. Whereas the mythology of past ages grew over time out of the religion of spirit, film is sprung full blown from the religion of popular culture. So it makes sense that in telling the tale of a great battle from long ago the makers of 300 look not to history or religion for their inspiration but to popular culture. And it is from here that the film derives its pertinence, from here that it mines its power. This movie is as much about the fact of its art as it is about the plot-line at hand. It is not just a story told but a celebration of 21st century storytelling. Like all art worthy of the name 300 demands that you meet it on its own terms. It is brutal, simplistic, fascistic and thoroughly enjoyable from beginning to end. It is a particular aspect of the work of Frank Miller that his morals are starkly conservative. 300 works on a black and white moral paradigm – the Spartans are a free people and the invading hordes of Persia have come to take away that freedom. The Spartans worship war and this pares their society down to its simplest forms so that all questions have a clear and definitive answer. The Spartans are austere and honorable, given to economy (and considerable volume) in their expression, whereas the Persians are rich and decadent, given to deceit, salesmanship, bullying and hedonism to achieve their ends. The implication in the film is that most people would choose the "Persian" way because it is easier and appeals to our baser instincts whereas the Spartan way, the honorable path, is only for the few, the proud. That's why there are so few Spartans and millions of everyone else. You know you're a bad-ass artist when you can make this perspective seem hip and exciting. And only directors who love Miller's work take him on (a luxury most artists from other mediums don't have in film). But Zack Snyder is not intimidated by his source material. Using his talent and integrity he makes Miller's piece a leaping off point for him to create his own work of art. If anything, the movie deepens and expands the comic, finding richer textures and still more evocative layers than Miller's already powerful piece. For a movie that's not just violent but about the cathartic beauty of violence 300 may yet well prove to be the most visually arresting movie of the year. With the advent of computers the technology of our greatest art form has grown in leaps and bounds in recent years and from beginning to end 300 plays like the next step in artistic evolution. Every shot, every set piece is gorgeous, intoxicating, ...and this beauty is not just cosmetic, it's information. Any great movie creates a complete world, a spell for the movie-goer to fall into and the visual splendor of 300 envelops us in its magic. 300 feels stripped down, pared to its essentials, though in fact it has scenes and characters that were never in the comic. Each chapter in the tale has a muscular vibrancy that moves the audience on to the next step with tremendous energy. From the story of the child Leonidas, king of the Spartans, to the encounter with the Persian messenger, to the oracle, and on to Thermopylae, where the extraordinary battle sequences take place at the Hot Gates, the audience is swept along in a tidal wave of twenty-first century myth making. This happens in spite of the fact that though there are a lot of people in 300, Spartan citizens, Spartan soldiers, Greek soldiers, Persian messengers, Persian soldiers, perverted priests...there are very few characters. Luckily, the ones that are there are a charismatic lot led by King Leonidas – a star-making performance by Gerard Butler and Lena Headey as the smoldering Queen Gorgo, injecting some much needed estrogen into the movie though she never seems less than a Spartan. She and Butler find some tenderness in their moments alone and this is essential for raising the emotional stakes for the audience later on when the movie is thundering through scenes of battle and political machinations. Questions will be raised about 300 concerning racism, homophobia, fascism and demonization of the disabled. Frankly, they're fair questions. For instance, the Spartans mock the Athenians for being "boy-lovers" though historically, they weren't averse to a little boy-loving themselves. Why the change? Especially when many of the dark-skinned Persians, including Xerxes the king, are portrayed as being of, shall we say -- fluid sexual orientation? Regardless, my guess is most people, whoever they are, if they like the movie they will identify with the Spartans and if they don't they won't. For me, 300 is a thrilling example of why we go to movies, because at their best they are like a dream happening in front of our waking eyes, because they can dazzle, excite and challenge and most of all, because they're a blast. email this review to a friend
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