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Poster for Sebastiane

Sebastiane

1976 · 86 min

A slow, hypnotic plunge into repressed desire and religious suffering, with stark imagery and Latin dialogue that keeps you at a chilly distance.

Directed by
Paul Humfress, Derek Jarman
Genres
Drama, History, Thriller
Starring
Leonardo Treviglio, Barney James, Neil Kennedy
Overview
Rome, AD 303. Emperor Diocletian demotes his favourite, Sebastian, from captain of the palace guard to the rank of common soldier and banishes him to a remote coastal outpost where his fellow soldiers, weakened by their desires, turn to homosexual activities to satisfy their needs. Sebastian becomes the target of lust for the officer Severus, but repeatedly rejects the man's advances. Castigated for his Christian faith, he is tortured, humiliated and ultimately killed.

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Stream in the UK
  • BFI Player
More options Data from JustWatch
Directed by
Paul Humfress, Derek Jarman
Genres
Drama, History, Thriller
Starring
Leonardo Treviglio, Barney James, Neil Kennedy
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How it feels

Written by AI. It can be wrong.

Tone
  • eeriestrength 2 of 3
  • tensestrength 2 of 3
  • melancholicstrength 2 of 3
  • darkstrength 2 of 3
Pacing
slow-burn, 1 of 4, from slow-burn to relentless
Attention
demanding, 4 of 4, from background-friendly to demanding
Themes
  • faith
  • obsession
  • isolation
  • sexuality
  • power
Places
  • military
  • sea
  • countryside
Era
period
Audience
adult
Form
  • nonlinear
Content intensity
  • Gore mild
  • Language mild
  • Violence strong
  • Sex strong
All scales, 0 to 10
Scales, 0 to 10
ScaleValue0 to 10
Action3
Horror3
Humour1
Realism6
Romance3
Tension6
Darkness7
Complexity6
Emotional weight7

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Where to watch in the UK

Stream
  • BFI Player

Streaming data from JustWatch.All options on TMDB

Details

Genres
drama, history, thriller
Directed by
Paul Humfress, Derek Jarman
Written by
Derek Jarman, James Whaley, Paul Humfress
Starring
Leonardo Treviglio, Barney James, Neil Kennedy, Richard Warwick, Donald Dunham, Ken Hicks, Janusz Romanov, Steffano Massari
Music
Andrew Thomas Wilson, Brian Eno
Cinematography
Peter Middleton
Runtime
86 min
Country
Italy, United Kingdom
Languages
Latin

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