300

The story of the Battle of Thermopylae would be considered unbelievable if it were not for the simple fact that it actually happened. In the year 480 BC, King Xerxes of Persia led an army that may have numbered as many as a quarter of a million to conquer Greece and thus avenge his father Darius' defeat at the Battle of Marathon. A Greek army which included three hundred Spartans, as well as seven thousand other Greeks, held the pass at Thermopylae against this largest invasion force in all the world for three days. Then a traitor named Ephialtes showed the Persian King a goat path that would take the Persians behind the Greek position. Most of the Greek Army retired south, with the Spartans holding the northern end of the pass and a similar force of allied Greeks holding the southern end. The Spartans and the allied Greeks were wiped out to the last man. Later, the Greeks beat the Persians at the naval Battle of Salamis and the land Battle of Plataea, driving the invaders from their soil.

An inscription reads on a monument to the three hundred Spartans. "Go tell the Spartans, traveler passing by, obedient to their orders here we lay."

The film 300 depicts the events of the Battle of Thermopylae in such a way to make them more visually stunning and dramatic. While it sacrifices historical accuracy, it maintains the spirit of Thermopylae.

The three hundred Spartans are depicted as bare chested warriors, wearing loin cloths, red cloaks, and helmets and carrying shields, spears, and swords, unlike the real Spartans who were covered head to toe in bronze armor. They look like a cross between Homeric figures out of legend and Conan the Barbarian. They are led ably by King Leonidas, played with ferice zeal by Scottish actor Gerard Butler.

The Persians, on the other hand, look like beings out of the worst nightmares of J. R. R. Tolkein, more Orc in some cases than men. King Xerxes, played by South American actor Rodrigo Santoro, is a seven foot, mincing, pierced and painted bald fellow with delusions of divinity. The real Xerxes was certainly bearded and, keeping the delusions of divinity, was likely more dignified about it.

I am also certain that the invading Persians did not have a rhinoceros, war elephants, or an executioner with swords for arms. But they sure looked good on the screen.

In the meantime, King Leonidas's wife, Queen Gorgo, played by Lena Headey, fights corrupt polititions back in Sparta. Another note. It is virtually certain that Sparta's Council of Ephors did not all look like the Emperor Palpatine from Star Wars.

Indeed a pattern of the film is to depict evil characters as being grotesquely deformed. Ephialtes, for example, is the ugliest hunchback ever depicted on film.

300 was shot entirely with blue screen, with the landscape added later. This gives the film a visually arresting appeal, harkening back to its origins as a graphic novel.

300, unlike many recent historical epics, has found a large audience. This may be because the film unabashedly depicts themes of self sacrifice for the sake of freedom, without any nuance such as Hollywood too often likes to inflict these days. Some have considered 300 as an allegory for the War on Terror, with the Persian invaders standing in for the Islamofascists and the three hundred Spartans for America and her allies.

In any case, 300 is a phantasmagorical experience, like a moving painting, albeit one that depicts all the terrors and pain of combat, with blood flowing in abundance. It is likely not for small children or the more sensitive. But for the rest of us, it is a very moving, thought provoking cinematic experience.