Julius Caesar

I watched this mostly because I enjoy watching historical movies and on occasion a well produced Shakespeare play. When I read one of the reviews I felt compelled to watch it for myself and discover why this take on Julius Ceasar would raise such wrath.

It was an entertaining play performed by African actors whom I believe that William Shakespeare himself would have been pleased to watch. In theatre actors and playwrights have a degree of artistic liberty to give the play a personal touch. I remember watching Ralph Fiennes play Coriolanus in a modern day Rome, the magnificent and talented Ian McKellen play Richard III in an alternate Fascist England, or another great actor Anthony Hopkins who played Titus. Orson Wells is said to have done a Fascist version of Julius Ceaser in the 1930's, and who doesn't remember Leonard DiCaprio in modern-day Romeo and Juliet.

This version of Julius Ceaser has a rich and beautiful African resonance to it and I love it. What makes Shakespeare so great is you can take any one of his plays and place it in any era or culture and it will always long familiar. Shakespeare understood people and bravo to the actors who played this version so well.

This is an *incredible* adaptation. One of the finest filmed Shakespeare's I have had the privilege of watching. (And I've seen a few.)

I can only assume that the haters are purists who don't like when people deviate from the original staging. I, however, love a modern lens and in turn loved it. Classics get stale when done to death with no creativity. This adaptation brings it in spades.

This production takes place in South Africa immediately post-apartheid. The political upheaval makes a surprising, but apt parallel to a tumultuous Post-Pompey Rome. Again and again Director Gregory Doran flirts with injecting Rome into South Africa and South Africa into Rome. The wardrobe is military garb and period appropriate fabrics but we see a tribal take on the toga in one pivotal scene, The soothsayer is a show-stopping tribal wiseman, and the timeless concept of the village square is surrounded by a 20th century town suffering economic collapse.

Most notably of all- the *performances.* If this film had been black-box I would have watched with rapt attention. There are no stoic soliloquies. No level headed asides. The classic monologues are uplifted by open rage and sorrow, and Brutus flirts casually with madness as the consequences of his actions crash over him.

If you can find it in your heart to fall in love with a creative retelling of a classic, I cannot recommend this loudly enough.

This was beautifully well-done. Adapted for the screen, there are reminders throughout that you are watching what was originally a play. It could have been jarring, but instead I found it meaningful.

Paterson Joseph's emotional range gives so much depth to Brutus's internal conflict. Portia can very easily become "the hysterical woman," but Adjoa Andoh gave her strength and dignity amidst her frustration and despair. Giving the final scene with Brutus to Lucius, elevated their relationship to something very meaningful. Simon Manyonda won a much-deserved award for his role as Lucius.

I watched this twice, once before and after reading the book "The Racial Contract." It wasn't until the second time that I really began to understand the significance of Black actors speaking Shakespeare's words about what it means to be a citizen and free.

I am puzzled by the extremely low ratings of Julius Caesar (2012) here at imdb, especially since at kanopy the viewers have raved about it (also at Amazon, where it is available from Prime video). And justly so, in my opinion. Yes, Shakespeare appropriated stories about ancient Rome, so of course the question arises: who should play the roles, given that there are no ancient Romans around anymore?

In this production, the problem is solved by setting the entire play in a modern, post-colonial African country, with only black actors as the cast. Most of the acting was excellent and the scenes were somehow made to match the original text. I am impressed and encourage potential viewers to ignore the cranks.

Richly imagined, beautifully acted version of one of Shakespeare's great historical tragedies. I have seen many re-imaginings of the Bard's plays over the last several decades of my life, and found this one of the best I have had the privilege of seeing.