Friday, March 16, 2012

HAMLET GOES BUSINESS (1987)


“Songs, they keep changing with the passing years…time takes so much away. But will we ever change? And where it will take us the coming day?”

One of absolutely worthy to watch modern adaptation of Bard’s greatest tragedy. Aki Kaurismaki’s take on Shakespeare’s ‘Hamlet’ is both creative and sardonic one in tone aiming dark satire on corporate greed and materialistic madness. Shot in expressionistic black and white chiaroscuro, it immediately gives it mood of classic Hollywood noirs. Kaurismaki potrayed modern day Hamlet as businessman’s directionless son who’s using computer, toning his body in gym, bugging his father’s murderer and desiring to seduce Ophelia. Avenge of his father is in his mind but he’s mentally, emotionally and sexually depressed loser who doesn’t know what to do! He kills his boredom by listening popular punk rock and reading comics. Kaurismaki maintained the plot and all other significant characters, scenes with errors that leading towards tragedy. But above all it’s his taking liberty in the end with that brilliantly twisted ending that points the mad frenzy of power and greed culminating to ironical working class poetic justice that makes it stand apart from all other adaptations.

Ratings-7/10 

No comments: