Rudewlrs

This is a fine film that I greatly enjoyed. I don't think that it deserved to win the Best Picture Oscar, but the Best Screenplay was no contest. Very satisfying in almost every respect, the film's true star is the brilliant screenplay that interweaves Shakespeare's texts with the new story being told.

I admit that I am a bit of a purist when it comes to Shakespeare - when I see one of his plays, I want to see it as he wrote it. I am not generally in favor of cutting or moving scenes, or otherwise adapting the Shakespeare text. That is not relevant here, however, because this is NOT a Shakespeare play. It is a modern day fictional tale using Shakespeare as a protagonist. The genius is in the way that Shakespeare's own poetry is worked so perfectly into the script. The film is good in any case, but if you have an appreciation for Shakespeare it really shines.

I loved this movie when I saw it in Italy two years ago. It ranks with the best of the recent Italian films I've seen (e.g. Il Nuovo Cinema Paradiso, Mediteraneo, Il Postino). I've been anxiously waiting for it to be released in the United States so I can urge all of my friends to see it. It is a charming tale about a collection of sympathetic characters, with good music and lovely visuals. See it if you get the chance.

This is an example of what great animated film can be. The story is a sci-fi adventure, but it is much more broadly accessible than other Japanese animation I have seen, for example the more widely known _Akira_. The story has it all: a colorful array of characters, warmth, drama, humor, action, and imagination, and it is all strung together in a delightful tale of a not-quite-ordinary boy and a very special girl. I enjoyed this film just about as much as _Raiders of the Lost Ark_, and I would recommend it to anyone who enjoyed that Lucas/Spielberg production.