Armand
it is not easy to surprise with a Shakespeare adaptation. and this film is a courageous act in this sense. but, scene after scene, it becomes more. the secret - deep respect for text, the splendid performance, the interesting solutions for each detail. but basic virtue is the science of director to create a pure Shakespeare adaptation and the new location is a piece who has its perfect role. than, the balance between impressive cast and the play. and, sure, the flavor of exemplary old fashion show. for a Shakespeare admirer, it could be a delight. for the common public , good remember and new occasion to discover an unique universe. for the young viewer - victim of internet and not very close by book, maybe, a form of revelation. that is the splendid gift of film - to be useful more than charming. to recreate emotion who has , in few moments, the status of magic.
david-sarkies
There are basically two things that this movie proves, and that is that Shakespeare does make more sense when it is acted on stage (or on screen) and that the Royal Shakespeare Company production that I saw years ago is still the best, and funniest, performance of this play that I have seen (though including this movie I would have to make that count to be two). I hope that most people who are actually reading this already know what the plot of A Midsummer Night's Dream is all about as I don't really want to waste anytime going over it again, but I guess I will have to.As can be expected with most Shakespearian plays there is no one simple plot, and in fact this play is notorious for not actually having one single plot, but rather a collection of minor subplots that finishes up with a rather absurd performance of Pyrimus and Phisbie. Basically the king and queen of Athens (Theseus and Hippolyta) are getting married and stage a competition for the person that can make the best play. However, there are four younger people, Demetrius, Lysander, Helena, and Hermia, who are also major characters. Demetrius (I think) is engaged to Hermia, but Hermia and Lysander are in love, and Helena loves Demetrius. Then there is the faerie world where Titania and Oberon rule, and the Faerie king and queen are having a spat over possession of an Indian baby.Anyway, the four younger ones decided that they do not like the civilised world of Athens so they flee to the forest, and Oberon happens to spy Demetrius fleeing from Helena and finds that to be rather immature, and decides to work his magic, through his servant Puck, to make Demeritus fall in love with Helena, but Puck gets it mixed up and magics Lysander instead, and Lysander then falls in love with Helena, and thus we have a huge mix up where the four are running around everywhere and everybody is confused as to who loves who. Meanwhile, the four working class men sneak off into the woods to practice their play, and also end up under the spells of Oberon.One interesting thing that I picked up from this play, and I have mentioned it elsewhere, is the contrast between civilisation and nature. It is believed by the human characters that while under civilisation there is law, under nature there is freedom, however this turns out to be quite the opposite. Lysander and Helena flee civilisation to the forest to be free of the law of the civilisation, but end up under the law of the forest. As it turns out, by fleeing to the forest they are not escaping to freedom, but a new ruler and a new law. The theatrical version that I saw had the same actors playing Titania and Oberon as well as Hippolyta and Theseus (which adds to the weight that there is still law, and rulership, in the forest).Another interesting aspect is the nature of the dream. Once again I have mentioned this elsewhere, but the entire play in and of itself is a dream which we, the audience, are experience, and Puck outlines this at the end. However, the entire episode in the forest is also a dream for the characters, and we see that after they enter the forest they all fall asleep, and before they leave the forest, they are also asleep, so the entire episode in the forest, particularly the mix up, is bracketed by two episodes of sleep, and thus this whole escapade in a sense is a dream. Bottom says so much when he wakes up and discovers that he is no longer an ass.Further, we note that the dream world does have an impact upon the civilised world, as Demetrius falls asleep despising Helena and awakes loving Helena. What the movie managed to draw out more is the sexual nature of the play, which once again does not come out well in the written word, particularly with the language that is used. For instance, in another play I saw one of the actors, using demonic language, speaks of the man's horns and the woman's cloven hoofs, which, as it turns out, is a reference to their sexual organs.I did enjoy this film, but it was not as good as the play that I had seen. I was disappointed that they had shifted the setting to Italy, because the use of Greece in the play distanced the action of the play far back into the mythological past to add further to its dreamlike nature. Theseus and Hyppolita are both Greek myths, and exist the the time before the more historical period of Socrates, Leonidas, and Xerxes. Even the character of Lysander, named possibly after the Spartan Lawgiver, is also quite a mythological person. However, I did find the use of antique gadgets such as the bike and the gramophone to add something to the film, and added a newer dimension of how modern technology is beginning to intrude into the dream world, and in doing so, destroying the magical nature of the dream world. In the end, both Oberon and Titania leave the forest, possibly never to return, as reason begins to override faith.
