Cäsar muss sterben (2012)

Cäsar muss sterben: Directed by Paolo Taviani, Vittorio Taviani. With Cosimo Rega, Salvatore Striano, Giovanni Arcuri, Antonio Frasca. Inmates at a high-security prison in Rome prepare for a public performance of Shakespeare’s “Julius Caesar.”

“Unable to snap up a ticket for this during Berlinale Film Festival (where it also won the grand prize), Iu0026#39;ve been itching to see Caesar Must Die (Cesare deve morire) for quite some time now. The latest from veteran Italian duo, Paolo and Vittorio Taviani (Padre Padrone, Kaos), itu0026#39;s a documentary-fiction hybrid observing the rehearsals and final performance of William Shakespeareu0026#39;s Roman masterpiece u0026#39;Julius Caesaru0026#39;. What makes this movie noteworthy is itu0026#39;s idiosyncratic formalities: the play is being performed from Romeu0026#39;s high security Rebibbia Prison, and the players are itu0026#39;s incarcerated residents: an ensemble cast of murderers, drug dealers and thieves.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eThe brothers waste no time with needless exposition on the inmatesu0026#39; backstories or crimes. Instead, the pair focus, with brutal proximity, how these criminals connect with the words of u0026quot;The Bardu0026quot;. Aside from the final, veracious performance, itu0026#39;s all shot in stylised black and white, as we see the production being set up, the rehearsals in the prison courtyard, and the delicate moments these wrongdoers spend behind cell bars. As is often the case with the Tavianiu0026#39;s back-catalogue, thereu0026#39;s moments filmed in tender close-ups; loading objects such as an empty chair or a wooden sword an implausible subtext.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eThat meta-narrative carries over to the inmates themselves, and ends up confusing us. Not only are they performers in the Shakespearean sense, it quickly becomes clear that they are being presented as poetical cyphers of their real life criminal selves. Itu0026#39;s a shameful attempt at allegory – expressing how the elder words of Shakespeare relate to contemporary penal society, and in doing so removes any sense of empathy we would have otherwise had for the inmates.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eAlthough the u0026quot;play-within-a-filmu0026quot; gimmick is a good one, itu0026#39;s hardly original (Charlie Kaufmanu0026#39;s Synecdoche, New York and Canadian filmmaker John Greysonu0026#39;s Lillies are both really worth a look). Itu0026#39;s also not the best part of Caesar Must Die. With such astounding performances and beautiful adaptation of Shakespeareu0026#39;s words, one wishes that the Tatvianis abandoned the ostentatious stunts and luscious monochrome display, and instead focused plainly on documenting these ostracised people. An extraordinary, grotesque bunch, who find happiness, solidarity and hope in creative expression.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eRead more reviews at www.366movies.com”