Hamlet
dir. Grigory Kozintsev
Opens Fri July 13 at the Grand Illusion.
The problem with most Shakespeare adaptations is more than actors muddling the language to the point where it needs subtitles; no, the problem lies in the interpretation of the text (or lack thereof). Whether it’s Kenneth Branagh’s attempt to corner the school market by performing the whole damn play without cuts, or Campbell Scott’s bland and unnecessary new version, the focus seems always to weigh heavily on the words and performances rather than the setting and story. The result is often a self-important work that cashes in on the name recognition of Shakespeare, crafted to massage the egos of the director and his actor friends.
Better adaptations give precedence to the setting by either altering it or just plain paying attention to it. Michael Almereyda’s Hamlet (2000) moves the tragedy to modern-day New York, floating the Shakespearean language in and around the skyscrapers of the Denmark Corporation. Most importantly, instead of trying to touch on all the possible themes in the play, thus diluting it, Almereyda focuses his interpretation on one angle: the difficulty–nay, the impossibility!–of love in the face of divorced, overbearing, murderous, and otherwise corrupt parental figures.
However, the best Hamlet I’ve seen was directed by a Russian. The 1964 adaptation (also known as Gamlet) directed by Grigory Kozintsev kicks ass, in large part because of his Castle Elsinore, an amazing stone structure on the edge of the sea. This is a working castle full of random noblemen and visiting dignitaries, a political hub where laws are made, wars are declared, and truces are negotiated. It’s more than just a backdrop for a family tragedy, an empty set full of the right kinds of props. This brilliant setting makes the kingdom into the main character, more so than Hamlet. The kingdom itself is threatened by the corruption that follows Claudius’ usurpation of the throne, and that is the point of this movie.
Hamlet recognizes that and sees it as his duty to put things right. He doesn’t dwell in grief or inaction (as in other versions), but instead sits back and scopes things out, looking for allies to help him. At every turn he is thwarted. He knows his girlfriend, Ophelia, has been hesitant to “receive his tenders,” but when her attitude dramatically changes after a talk with her father, Polonius, Hamlet sees that she’s being used by Polonius (and by extension the king and queen) to get information out of him. So he starts feeding them misinformation through her. Poor Ophelia is caught in the middle, an innocent victim torn asunder by an attempt to follow both her heart and her corrupt elders. Likewise, Hamlet is glad to see his good friends Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, but is quickly disappointed with how they choose fidelity to the usurper king over his unconditional friendship. How all occasions do inform against him, and spur his dull revenge.
Around the time this movie was being made, the KGB was working to oust Nikita Khrushchev, whose policies had led to the “cultural thaw” and a blossoming in the arts. The anti-intellectual Leonid Brezhnev was about to take over, and it’s as though the filmmakers knew how bad things would become. This version of Hamlet plays like a warning to the people about how terrible things happen when you follow a corrupt leader.
It’s enough to make you want to get a drink, which is the basis of my other favorite version of Hamlet: the Canadian movie Strange Brew, playing as the Grand Illusion’s late-night feature over the weekend. Elsinore Brewery is in upheaval. The patriarch has been killed and his wife, Gertrude, has just married her brother-in-law Claude, who is trying to take the brewery from the rightful inheritor, Pam (Pamlet?). It’s the introduction of the two beer-swilling, toque-wearing, back-bacon-eating hosers Bob and Doug McKenzie (as the Rosencrantz and Guildenstern figures) who drive the movie to its ultimate conclusion. It figures that the Canadian version of Hamlet would take two of Shakespeare’s most disposable characters and make them the heroes, all the while peppering the story with elements like science fiction, hockey, a plot to take over the world with tampered beer, and a flying dog. It’s hilarious.