|
When they have barely reached the age of reason, Spartan soldiers are taught never to give up a fight until the last drop of blood is spilled. 300 opens with the young boy Leonidas being honed in the skills of a warrior, taking blows from a hefty adult without winking an eye. Then, as an adolescent, he is thrown bare-backed into the wilderness in the winter with but a spear and his wits as his weapons. He returns home wearing the skin of a puma he has outwitted and kille--and he is hailed a real Spartan. He gets further training in combative skills and in time becomes King Leonidas (Gerard Butler), with the awesome task of protecting his city from Persian soldiers who are advancing by the tens of thousands. King Leonidas wants to face the armed Persian legions but the Spartan council and the oracles are against it, certain that it would only lead to death. Undaunted, Leonidas assembles 299 of his best-skilled soldiers and leads them to conquer the Persian army.
300 is mesmerizing in its physicality. Director Zack Snyder once said he did not want people to think of his film as if it were a painting, but it cannot be denied that many frames of 300 look exactly like a painting--a breathtakingly beautiful, haunting painting. The backgrounds of the battle scenes, for instance, and wherever the shots call for a panoramic backdrop, are such masterful computerized works that they almost distract you from the action going on. The desaturized coloring also makes it appear much less bloody than it is--what with all those bloodthirsty warriors hacking heads and limbs off with the nonchalance of an Ohio housewife chopping celery! Whatever is missing in the thin plot, the earnest performances of the lead actors fill in. It’s not history, anyway, so go have your fill ogling those tanned thighs that glisten like marble columns erected on a heap of dead Persians. When you’re tired of the gore, just appreciate the costumes, recall the allure of the half-naked oracle, or look beyond--at the (digitally created) landscapes to marvel over the paradox of the richness offered by their Spartan minimalism.
First, it must be clear to the viewer that 300 is based on a Frank Miller comic, which is based on history but is definitely not historical. And since director Snyder’s take on the film is pure fantasy--the way the Greek mind would have seen the battle of Thermapylae--the story would have us believe that it’s about the Spartans’ fight for freedom, when the reality the film projects is that they’re just a bunch of stubborn men fighting to death to shoo away aliens creeping up their doorstep. What does 300 show you that would be relevant to your life here and now? That warriors can’t dialogue? That it’s suicidal (if not stupid) to think 300 top-rated soldiers can outsmart and vanquish an army of 10,000? That those who live by the sword die by the sword? Well--there’s something to be said about Spartan discipline here--it gives you fabulous abs, wow!
.
(Date Reviewed: 09 March 2007)
|
