"We are such stuff as dreams are made on, and our little life is rounded with a sleep" (Shakespeare, "The Tempest"). Yes, Julie Taymor is a visionary. An original mind, with a talent for creating visuals that bring the forces of nature closer to you, yet that are portrayed in an unearthly, magical way. Yes, the poetry is like a layer of balm throughout the raging "The Tempest", the 2010 NYFF centerpiece. She is a bold director. And Hellen Mirren is a master thespian, proudly portraying Shakespeare's Prospera (in his text designated for a male character). But only for a true devoted scholar of Shakespeare, with a well prepped and hungry mind to view a cinema interepretation of his last play, can truly understand this film. No matter how hungry, curious and appreciative of a perfect set mind sits in the audience, with every passing minute of this glorious cinematographic translation of the play, one's incomprehension grows. The dialogue is pure (VERY PURE) Shakespeare. The atmosphere, despite the violent sea, the absorbingly magical woods, the powerful rain, the mud, the thunder, fire, rage....feels very play-like. Majestic, grandiose, with beautiful imagery, but lacking the potential for Shakespeare's language and deep characters to stick with us. Like a work of art, by a talented, masterful artist, that leaves you with appreciation for the deep study, but slight shame that so many pieces are left somewhere behind the art, unable to speak to you during or after the viewing.
