Cesare Deve Morire (Caesar Must Die)

Shown in the beautiful Westgarth Cinema, to 10 or so people, getting out to the movies on a midweek afternoon was a rare, great treat.  "Cesare Deve Morire" lived up to the dramatic and powerful promises made in the advertising. It has also picked up a nice bag of accolades and awards this year including the Golden Bear from the Berlin Film Festival.

The story is based on a true occurrence of Italian prisoners putting on Shakespeares Julius Caesar.  The cast members are indeed prisoners and their quiet, awkward, rough presence is the key ingredient to the films effectiveness.

Westgarth Cinema, Northcote

The opening scene sees the final scene of their performance, kitted up in Roman costumes. (see above)  The majority of the film is a flashback to the rehearsals, auditions, and the development of the production.

Watching the Shakespearean scenes throughout different areas of the prison, the lines between truth and art are blurred.  The power plays of emperors and mafia are an obvious alignment, but the resonance is done well and the tone is gritty and on edge with less being revealed about their prison relationships than I thought would occur, making it all the more effective.  It's a very powerful film.   The audition scene is a highlight and introduces us to the crimes for which they're doing time. Mostly drug pushers, murders and mafia. The note of gravitas and contemporary reality suddenly hits you even more.


So engrossed was I, that it was only half way through that I realised the flashback scenes are in black and white.  Then when the colour resumes it engulfs your senses and clarifies the immediacy of where we are and they're about to do their performance for friends and family.  The devices used to draw threads of the shakespearean drama and contemporary life together to a resonating harmonic are many and quite subtle at times. Or maybe I was just totally immersed.

Updated Colourful Art Deco lights, Westgarth Cinema

Sounds heavy? Well yes, it's very dramatic but there is some good humour too. Such as when theye're rehearsing in the exercise yard and the guard watching from above is about to call time to return to cells.  "No, no, let them finish the scene, this bit is really good..." objects his fellow guard.

Criticisms? It's a bit loose, slightly too long and not very polished but that seems to suit it, somehow.

It's very hard to get to a film festival shown during the working week, so buying DVD's for christmas gifts or requesting them, might be a great way to support a wonderful programme and not miss out.
Italian Festival Link