A Director to Adapt Each of Shakespeare's Plays #3 -- AS YOU LIKE IT directed by Francois Ozon
The Plot:
Rosalind like to watch men wrestle. Orlando is very good at it. Perfect couple it would seem. But Orlando’s brother is plotting against him and Rosalind is the daughter of the ousted king. Separately, they both flee to the forest – Rosalind in drag, because you know, it’s mandatory. Eventually, the lovesick duo run into each other but Rosalind, perhaps sensing the thinness of the plot, remains in disguise as a young man and helps Orlando to practice his wooing skills. But when another woman falls in love with the disguised Rosalind, the god of marriage says enough is enough!
Why Ozon?
To compensate for the play’s charming frivolousness, As You Like It needs a director with a confident sense of style. Ozon has it to spare. In his Water Drops on Burning Rocks, two men and two women engage in a desperate sexual scrambling much like that seen at the end of Shakespeare’s play. Comfortable in tackling relationships amongst any combination of genders, Ozon would ensure a production that is flat-out sexy. That aspect is crucial because it is what will provide the energy necessary to give the comedy some spark.
Rosalind like to watch men wrestle. Orlando is very good at it. Perfect couple it would seem. But Orlando’s brother is plotting against him and Rosalind is the daughter of the ousted king. Separately, they both flee to the forest – Rosalind in drag, because you know, it’s mandatory. Eventually, the lovesick duo run into each other but Rosalind, perhaps sensing the thinness of the plot, remains in disguise as a young man and helps Orlando to practice his wooing skills. But when another woman falls in love with the disguised Rosalind, the god of marriage says enough is enough!
Why Ozon?
To compensate for the play’s charming frivolousness, As You Like It needs a director with a confident sense of style. Ozon has it to spare. In his Water Drops on Burning Rocks, two men and two women engage in a desperate sexual scrambling much like that seen at the end of Shakespeare’s play. Comfortable in tackling relationships amongst any combination of genders, Ozon would ensure a production that is flat-out sexy. That aspect is crucial because it is what will provide the energy necessary to give the comedy some spark.
Ozon films I have seen:
1. Water Drops on Burning Rocks ****
2. 8 Women ***1/2
3. Swimming Pool ***1/2
4. Under the Sand ***1/2
5. Criminal Lovers ***
Short films worth watching: Truth or Dare, X 2000, Bed Scenes
posted by Joel at 8:21 AM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home