MARIA DUARTE recommends a remarkable study of the friendship between a Palestinian and a Pakistani, broken by a hostile state
Latest editorial
Film round up
MATTHEW HAWKINS rakes through un-fancy words and flair-free summaries to find who and what might be flamboyant
PETER MASON is exhilarated by an exciting, well-considered and historically minded tribute to the great Trinidadian instrument
Reducing historical lives to ‘male’ and ‘female’ roles, we lose the nuance of those lives and a clearer understanding of past societies, suggests CLAIRE ISABELLA GILMOUR
CHRIS SEARLE relishes the genius of pianist Alexander Hawkins, his many ensembles, and his new album
Ran (12A)
Directed by Akira Kurosawa
5/5
LONG dead, out of copyright and with no manager to exploit the brand, Shakespeare has been a fabulous free source of inspiration for film-makers.
The Bard’s King John was filmed as long ago as 1899 and the advent of the talkies confirmed him as a crucial cinema source for everyone from Laurence Olivier, Max Reinhardt and Orson Welles to Charlton Heston and Howard Keel.
But for my money — and even as a critic I would happily pay to see it — Akira Kurosawa’s Ran is arguably the finest and most memorable Shakespearian film adaptation.
Similar stories
ANDY HEDGECOCK, MARIA DUARTE and ANGUS REID review Synthetic Sincerity, Our Hero, Balthazar, Heartstopper Forever, and A Year In London
MARIA DUARTE admires the scale of Christopher Nolan’s adaptation of Homer
MARIA DUARTE, JAMES WALSH and ANDY HEDGECOCK review The Invite, My Father’s Island, Nirvanna: the Band, the Show, the Movie, and Oh My Goodness!
LEO BOIX, ANDY HEDGECOCK and MARIA DUARTE review Dreamers, It Was Just An Accident, Folktales, and Eternity