Paolo and Vittorio Taviani's Caesar Must Die serves up a docu-drama starring Italian penitentiary inmates—using their real names—who perform in an abridged version of Shakespeare's Julius Caesar. So, we are seeing actual roughneck prisoners in a movie, playing themselves as prisoners acting in a play. Got that? Surprisingly powerful, the film is mostly shot in stark black-and-white, with only the formal staging in full color. As the show rehearses, in corridors and exercises yards, the men—as well as the appreciative guards—take stock of the various characters, with some of the criminals here easily able to relate to the themes of abuse of power and the fate that awaits the conspirators. Shakespeare, it seems, knew how things work on the mean streets. A fascinating piece of behind-bars theater that is also an absorbing work of cinematic meta-narrative, this is highly recommended. (C. Cassady)
Caesar Must Die
Adopt, 77 min., in Italian w/English subtitles, not rated, DVD: $29.95 Volume 29, Issue 2
Caesar Must Die
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