Oliver Stone's Alexander

We went to see the long-anticipated (by me, anyway) movie Alexander. It seems to have gotten terrible reviews, but I was very pleased with it.. It was very historically accurate in certain respects, showing Alexander's crazy parents and his homosexuality. Actually, his homosexuality was presented in a very positive light, condoned or approved of by all the characters in the movie. Aristotle tells the young Alexander that homosexuality, done correctly, is "pure" and "a force for good" (!).

I think that many of the reviewers were just put off by this: certainly the Taiwanese audience was very disturbed during the scene in which Alexander and Hephaiston profess their love for one another. But he really was gay (or bisexual, the Greeks not really having a concept of "gay": they thought it was a little unnatural to only be attracted to one gender, whether male or female), so the movie makers deserve credit. It was also beautifully shot: I thought the battle scenes were especially impressive.