This wonderful little movie pushed all the right buttons for me. It's about actors and the miracle of drama. It's about people rising to insuperable challenges. It's about people who don't fit in, the "misfits and nutters", managing to coalesce into a unit. It's the history of a dramatic production from casting through rehearsals to performance, with all the reversals and unexpected problems that always arise. And it has Shakespeare.
Sound familiar? It should. This movie shares all the above characteristics with Shakespeare in Love.
What Shakespeare in Love has, besides all that, is a pretty predictable love story and some gorgeous sets and costumes.
What this film has, besides all that, is a lot of laughs and a theme that flows through every frame. Part of it is stated in the real title of the film, In the Bleak Midwinter (Why must some stupid American constantly insist on changing book and movie titles, usually sacrificing subtlety in favour of inanity?), and its reference to Holst's sad little Xmas tune which turns up in the score when the emotions are running high. The bleakness of the depressed characters is underscored by the black-and-white film, the lack of camera tricks or even motion, and the low-budget feel of the film which corroborates the low-budget production of Hamlet.
The other part of the theme is rather emphatically indicated as they all pull into the village ("I think it's a sign!" "Yes, a road sign, love.") of Hope. The script is full of puns about those who have "abandoned Hope", reminding us of Dante's Hell. The awakening of a new hope in the darkest hour of the year when everything is at its bleakest is the message of Christmas, and this is a Christmas story in the deepest sense.
It's probably just a coincidence that the first episode of the world's most famous sci-fi trilogy was called "A New Hope".
The acting is practically flawless. Julia Sawalha is perhaps a bit weak in spots and is filmed in an extremely unflattering way at times, but she more than compensates with a marvelous snippet of Ophelia which is in itself worth the price of purchase.
Many of these actors worked with Branagh on Much Ado and Hamlet; they are obviously having fun and the result is brilliant. Branagh's direction is characterized by unobtrusiveness and understatement which might surprise some.
For most folks out there this will be a funny, feel-good picture which is well worth seeing. If, like me, you believe in Shakespeare, acting, underdogs, Christmas or light at the end of the tunnel this might be the best movie you've ever seen.
Sound familiar? It should. This movie shares all the above characteristics with Shakespeare in Love.
What Shakespeare in Love has, besides all that, is a pretty predictable love story and some gorgeous sets and costumes.
What this film has, besides all that, is a lot of laughs and a theme that flows through every frame. Part of it is stated in the real title of the film, In the Bleak Midwinter (Why must some stupid American constantly insist on changing book and movie titles, usually sacrificing subtlety in favour of inanity?), and its reference to Holst's sad little Xmas tune which turns up in the score when the emotions are running high. The bleakness of the depressed characters is underscored by the black-and-white film, the lack of camera tricks or even motion, and the low-budget feel of the film which corroborates the low-budget production of Hamlet.
The other part of the theme is rather emphatically indicated as they all pull into the village ("I think it's a sign!" "Yes, a road sign, love.") of Hope. The script is full of puns about those who have "abandoned Hope", reminding us of Dante's Hell. The awakening of a new hope in the darkest hour of the year when everything is at its bleakest is the message of Christmas, and this is a Christmas story in the deepest sense.
It's probably just a coincidence that the first episode of the world's most famous sci-fi trilogy was called "A New Hope".
The acting is practically flawless. Julia Sawalha is perhaps a bit weak in spots and is filmed in an extremely unflattering way at times, but she more than compensates with a marvelous snippet of Ophelia which is in itself worth the price of purchase.
Many of these actors worked with Branagh on Much Ado and Hamlet; they are obviously having fun and the result is brilliant. Branagh's direction is characterized by unobtrusiveness and understatement which might surprise some.
For most folks out there this will be a funny, feel-good picture which is well worth seeing. If, like me, you believe in Shakespeare, acting, underdogs, Christmas or light at the end of the tunnel this might be the best movie you've ever seen.