Cesare deve morire

Plot

Inmates at a high-security prison in Rome prepare for a public performance of Shakespeare's "Julius Caesar."

Release Year: 2012

Rating: 8.6/10 (56 voted)

Director:
Paolo Taviani

Stars: Cosimo Rega, Salvatore Striano, Giovanni Arcuri

Storyline
Inmates at a high-security prison in Rome prepare for a public performance of Shakespeare's "Julius Caesar."

Writers: William Shakespeare, Paolo Taviani

Cast:

Cosimo Rega
–

Cassio

Salvatore Striano
–

Bruto

Giovanni Arcuri
–

Cesare

Antonio Frasca
–

Marcantonio

Juan Dario Bonetti
–

Decio

Vincenzo Gallo
–

Lucio

Rosario Majorana
–

Metello

Francesco De Masi
–

Trebonio

Gennaro Solito
–

Cinna

Vittorio Parrella
–

Casca

Pasquale Crapetti
–

Legionary

Francesco Carusone
–

Fortune Teller

Fabio Rizzuto
–

Stratone

Fabio Cavalli
–

Theatre Director

Maurilio Giaffreda
–

Ottavio

Release Date: 2 March 2012

Filming Locations: Rebibbia, Rome, Lazio, Italy

Technical Specs

Runtime:

76 min

User Review

Prison, Theater, Freedom…

Rating: 10/10


A week has passed since I watched "Cesare deve morire" and I am still
trying to decipher the multiple layers on which this film has worked in
my mind. The brothers Taviani have directed a masterpiece of 76' which
however is so dense in content that the time is waxing inside one's own
memory.

The Tavianis are documenting the mis-en-scene of a Shakespeare piece
inside a prison. Probably the most impressive element of "Cesare deve
morire" is the performances of the inmate actors. The fact that the
film is shot as a documentary in its natural setting the film having
two layers which are seamlessly weaved on each other. On the first
level we see the prisoners who are passionately rehearsing the lines of
their characters and on the second level we stand on front of Cesar,
Brutus and Antonius discussing in the alleys of Rome. As in the case of
Bergman, the brothers Taviani very successfully the relationship
between theater and cinema .

This setting is extremely symbolic and renders the actor performances
utterly intense. It feels as if the prisoners, lacking their physical
freedom, are getting deep into the skin of those new personas seeking
the experiences which prison has deprived them of. The performances are
so convincing that one has to contemplate on the nature of human
destiny. Could it be that one's social condition or even coincidences
could make the same persons capable of the best or the worst? Besides,
the film leads to an unavoidable rumination of the concept of freedom
in all its forms.

A stark black and white photography pronounces the prison architecture
and recreates ancient Rome in its bare corridors. The photography is
perfectly self-standing and it would be of great artistic value even in
the absence of plot. The black and white may emphasize the lack of
freedom of the inmates but also allows the spectator to ignore
redundant information and to concentrate on the performances of the
actors. It is remarkable how architectural beauty arises even in a
prison. The common spaces are illustrated exceptionally well and after
a while one really feels lost in a limbo between the prison and Rome.

Although the audience reaches catharsis after the end of Shakespeare's
narration the narration of brothers Taviani remains unresolved into
ones psyche. I personally believe that "Cesare deve morire" is one of
those rare cinematic experiences that are capable to shake away well
entrenched beliefs. That on its one would make it worth seeing but
gladly this film is so much more.