‘IS GEORGE BUSH XERXES, OR IS GEORGE BUSH LEONIDAS?’
Miles Fielder meets Zach Snyder the writer/director behind an amazing new film adaptation of Frank Miller graphic novel 300.
ack Snyder‘s blockbuster adaptation of graphic
novelist Frank Miller‘s fantastical visualisation
of the battle between a handful of Spartan warriors and the whole of the Persian limpire is wilfully divorced from reality. So it must have come as something of a surprise to the young American filmmaker when. following 300‘s premiere at the Berlin Film Festival last month. press and public alike quizzed Snyder (pictured. centre) endlessly over the film‘s political message.
'They were obsessed with the politics of the movie.‘ Snyder says. 'To the point where they said. “You‘re a fascist.“ l was asked. “Is George Bush Xerxes. or is George Bush Leonidas?" I said. "There‘s a strong argument for both sides. But the camp quality of the film — it‘s an opera — hopefully lets you off the book.“ It was fun to have these people coming at me so strong.
300 is a graphic rendering of the battle of
‘l‘hermopylae. where. in 480 B(‘. Greece‘s greatest soldiers repelled the invading Persian board and saved Western civilisation and democracy. The Spartans were lead by king ferocious Leonides (played in the film by a very buff (ierard Butler). the Persians by the megalomaniac god-king Xerxes. It‘s possible to read the film as a piece of host-WI l propaganda. though the fact that Xerxes has a booming American voice and commands a mighty mechanised army muddies that political reading. In any event. Miller‘s source material. and the seven-year development period of the film. pre- date ‘)/I l.
Snyder himself was more interested in the challenge of adapting the graphic novel. To this end. the film‘s
backgrounds were computer generated with the cast working against blue screens. That process gives the film both a stunning. hyper-realistic and a stagy. operatic look. ‘lirank Miller‘s graphic novel is amazing.‘ Snyder says. ‘I thought if I could make the pictures move. I could create a cinematic experience audiences hadn‘t had before. We realised we could get a lot more bang for our buck if we used blue screens and CG. But it‘s hard to do digital interaction. so the rule of thumb was: anything the actors could touch. a spear. a rock. a wheat field. was real. And that helped the actors. because they had a stage to work on. Again. almost like performing an opera.‘
The precursor to 300 is Sin City. Robert Rodriguez‘ adaptation of Miller‘s noirish crime comics in which
the only thing aside from the actors that isn‘t made of"
pixels is the bar that Jessica Alba‘s stripper dances on. Aside from the visual similitude of the films (and of‘ the films and comics). the 300 and Sin City movies are faithful to the shockingly wanton amorality of‘ Miller‘s source material. ‘The morality of the Spartans is not a
modern morality.‘ Snyder says. 'They kill the wounded v
on the battlefield. and their own children if they‘re not born physically fit. You‘re on this journey with the
Spartans. and they‘re your guides. lt screws with the .
convention of morality. In Berlin. someone said. “Your movie‘s black and white.“ Really? How. then. do you recognise the amorality of the Spartans?
‘And that.‘ Snyder says triumphantly. ' about the movie.‘
is what I love
300 is on general release from Fri 23 Mar. See profile, page 43.
Hit
>l< Old Joy Bonnie ‘Prince’ Billy, Will Oldham, plays ageing stoner Kurt in this seamless, minimal Brokeback Mountain- ish tale. A tiny joy. See review, page 43. Fi/mhouse, Edinburgh from Fri 23—Thu 29 Mar only.
>l< Climates Moving marital discord drama from great Turkish filmmaker Nuri Bilge Ceylan, starring the director and his real-life wife. See interview and review, page 44. GET, Glasgow on Thu 75 Mar only; Fi/mhouse, Edinburgh from Fri 23—Thu 29 Mar only.
>l< 300 Visually stunning Spartan epic based on Frank Miller’s excellent graphic novel of the same name. Recommended. See preview, left and profile, page 43. General release from Fri 23 Mar
>l< Esma’s Secret Long overdue Scottish outing for this powerful Serbian drama about life and love after the Yugoslav war. Definitely worth catching. Matinees only. See review, page 42. Cameo, Edinburgh from Fri 23— Thu 29 Mar only.
>i< After the Wedding Enjoyable Danish tearjerker about fathers, daughters and death. See interview, index. Out now on selected release.
>i< Cinema China This superb Chinese cinema festival comes to an end with premieres of Zhang Yimou’s two most recent films and welcome screenings of Ang Lee’s The Wedding Banquet, Wei Tei's Distance and Xei Fei's stunning Women from the Lake of Scented Souls plus a Xei Fei masterclass. Dreams do sometimes come true. Fi/mhouse, Edinburgh until Sun 18 Mar.
15—29 Mar 2007 THE LIST 41
>l<
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