Reading...
So, I will keep this short, in the interest of getting some sleep tonight.
I finished Renault's The Persian Boy. Prosey, first person, but an intense little narrative, it brought out my desire to finally commit to seeing Stone's Alexander, something that never caught my interest before now. So I browsed youtube, to see if they at least included a few of the actual historical sequences that most likely did occur, as indicated in Renault's afterword.
So I never realized there was sooo much dance in this movie. The youtube edit of Bagoas' dance is sadly warped in all the posted vids, but Roxane's dance of knives is posted and appears pretty awesome. It's very tribal and I noted more than a few of her moves appear in my own dance repertoir:) I can't say the same for the Bagoas piece, but the actor is a professional dancer, trained in ballet, something I know next to nothing about and damn hot on top of that. Also, given the American conception of men dancing as being something odd, it's amazing that this even appeared in the movie at all, except for the historical accuracy of the event and the public "kiss" that marked it in the annals of history.
I guess I will just have to steel myself against the baaaaaad dialogue (why every ancient civilization must have a generic "Brit-euro" accent is beyond me) and Colin Farrell's even more awful hair and watch it sometime. It does have some nice glittery costuming which might distract me when my distaste for the bad armor and flawed acting kicks in.
Anyway, I don't care if Renault's style is a bit dated, I liked it. It worked with the character she had concieved, who was young, aged 10-26 through the events of the book. Descriptors were broken into readable chunks and there was enough story to keep the plot moving without becoming a fictional rehashing of non-fictive events, replendant with names, dates, and other tedium. You don't have to be a genius to figure out where and what she embellished in the telling of specific tales; she herself clarifies much of this, while remaining true the period.
So Renault's book goes nicely with my icon of Bagoas in Mourning (from a print, on ebay somewheres, done by a modern artist named Troy something or other), in the category of well done and well executed. I know the movie won't hold a candle to either, but I am now sorely tempted...
SIDE NOTE: According to one reader, Mel Gibson now owns the rights to many (all?) of Renault's books. After Stone's foray, its doubtful he would pursue such a movie, but at the very least it would likely look better. The actors in Apocalypto at least looked and acted much better...