Thursday, April 12

Coriolanus (2011) by Ralph Fiennes


Coriolanus is a written tragedy by William Shakespeare in the XVII century following the life of a Roman leader Caius Marcius Coriolanus, his uprise and downfall provoked by the people of Rome and decided in the senate. First he fights for Rome, though not beloved he endures. Meanwhile the time comes where his arrogance and words are not pleased by the people and he is turned into exile. Wrath forms when he is despised by the people he fought so hard and proudly sustain the scares to show. And in revenge he turns the table of the game... 
This film is directed and interpreted by Ralph Fiennes as Corionalus, he is the omnipresent figure who talks Shakespeare from minute one to the end. In that theater-like tone there is some confusion between what we see and hear, because the set is real, the tone is tragedy yet we see it is not real because it's written act all over it. I enjoyed the different type of visualization mixed with the theatrics tone, yet it did sound strange for a movie screen. It reminded me of when I saw Titus (1999) with Anthony Hopkins (yes it is Shakespeare too), but I liked Corionalus best because of the principal woman figure, his mother Volumnia who was portrayed by Vanessa Redgrave and has some fantastic lines. She clearly demonstrates the strength of the woman who give birth to Corionalus and inflicted him the idea that made him who he is/was.
It is not a film for everyone to like, many will get bored because there is not enough fighting or too much drama or no romance, but people this is art...not a blockbuster!!!
It is the union between theater and cinema so that the story can be told to anyone!

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