A Director to Adapt Each of Shakespeare's Plays #6 -- CYMBELINE directed by Jean-Pierre Jeunet
The Plot:
Imogen wants to marry a sweet but low-born gentleman. The king wants her to marry an arrogant but well-born doofus. This never goes well. The gentlemen gets himself deported and allows a shady Italian to convince him that even if he was allowed to marry Imogen, the bride wouldn’t exactly be wearing white (nudge, nudge). He then does what we would all do in such a situation – takes his anger out on the Roman army. By this point, the doofus has had his dome lopped off, so the king figures Imogen may as well marry his second choice.
Why Jeunet?
Cymbeline is one of Shakespeare’s most underrated works, in my opinion. It borrows from moments in his other plays, but the fusion of romance, drama, dark comedy and action works pretty darn well. Jeunet has the flexibility and the energy to leave a personal stamp on this oft forgotten play and make it work. It’s not difficult to imagine Amelie’s Audrey Tatou as the optimist Imogen, searching for love in a world of treachery and war. With the dark comedy Delicatessen and the odd fairy-tale City of Lost Children added into the mix, Jeunet has proven his ability to explore a decidedly unconventional take on love, romance and desire.
Jeunet films I have seen:
1. Amelie ****
2. Delicatessan ***1/2
3. A Very Long Engagement **1/2
4. The City of Lost Children **1/2
Imogen wants to marry a sweet but low-born gentleman. The king wants her to marry an arrogant but well-born doofus. This never goes well. The gentlemen gets himself deported and allows a shady Italian to convince him that even if he was allowed to marry Imogen, the bride wouldn’t exactly be wearing white (nudge, nudge). He then does what we would all do in such a situation – takes his anger out on the Roman army. By this point, the doofus has had his dome lopped off, so the king figures Imogen may as well marry his second choice.
Why Jeunet?
Cymbeline is one of Shakespeare’s most underrated works, in my opinion. It borrows from moments in his other plays, but the fusion of romance, drama, dark comedy and action works pretty darn well. Jeunet has the flexibility and the energy to leave a personal stamp on this oft forgotten play and make it work. It’s not difficult to imagine Amelie’s Audrey Tatou as the optimist Imogen, searching for love in a world of treachery and war. With the dark comedy Delicatessen and the odd fairy-tale City of Lost Children added into the mix, Jeunet has proven his ability to explore a decidedly unconventional take on love, romance and desire.
Jeunet films I have seen:
1. Amelie ****
2. Delicatessan ***1/2
3. A Very Long Engagement **1/2
4. The City of Lost Children **1/2
posted by Joel at 11:19 AM
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