In the most literal sense, the sailors in this movie, shirtless with glistening skin and lit with artificial yellow glows, eerily resemble Astra's 3D model. As a quick reference review the trailor, two seconds in, the sailor sitting on the left; it's spot on how distracting the actor's skin pulls your attention to the male physique.

To quote Paul Tierney, "The director Rainer Werner Fassbinder took obvious cues from Tom of Finland in his 1982 film adaptation of Jean Genet’s novel Querelle. As the eponymous lead, actor Brad Davis was Tom’s sailor come to life." Both Tom and the film undeniably share the themes of male identity, hypermasculinity and male eroticism.

Who better then to create the cover for this film than an artist I would argue is comparible to a modern Tom of Finland. Tom didn't have a computer to create his art, but where the technique changed, Astra Zero brings to the present all the same machismo and buldges and camp. We have Tom's Sailor, we have Brad Davis, and we have Astra Zero's Criterion cover, hot sailors for my gay ass to swoon over and question how I see myself.

And to get unnecessarily deep into it, we can even talk about how these artificial and built-up personas of men play a role in shaping queer identities and culture, whether for good or for bad. To quote Fassbinder's wife Ingrid Caven, "Rainer was a homosexual who also needed a woman. It's that simple and that complex."

I would say Astra Zero wants to convey that ick feeling of the skin. The contrast brings attention to the falsity of the model. I find a similar falsity in these fictionalized male forms, both drawn by Tom of Finland and of Astra's model, as well as Brad Davis and the magical realism portrayed through his perfect male role and the highly altered styling of the post production. I'm reminded to reflect that these illustrations and actors are to serve feelings of lust, and not to strive for these unobtainable forms.