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LooKING for RICHARD

“A horse, a horse! My kingdom for a horse!” You've probably heard these words before, even though you may not remember from where they came. Al Pacino will tell you. Better than that, he will explain them to you.

Looking for Richard is a documentary, starred in and directed by Al Pacino, about the production of Shakespeare’s play Richard III. Al Pacino not only produces the play, he studies it, making deep explanations of each part, teaching us how to understand and appreciate the bard’s work.

Several well known figures are cast, Alec Baldwin, Kevin Spacey, Kevin Kline, Kenneth Branagh, Vanessa Redgrave, James Earl Jones and Winona Ryder, some of them performing in the play, others just appearing in interviews, explaining what they feel about Shakespeare.

Only a few scenes of the play are performed, crucial parts, but even so they will give us a good idea of what the play is about - greed, murder and an intense thirst for power.

Even if you don’t like Shakespeare, or feel like Kevin Kline at the first time he watched a play, just tuned out and anxious to run away at the intermission, the movie certainly will please you.

Even the actors admit that the play is confusing, that the language is tough and fancy, but, as they also say, it’s just a matter of getting used to it, in the same way you get used to some rap songs.

Lines are explained, historical contexts are given, experts are consulted, everything that could be used to clear our doubts about the piece are used; and the more they explain, the more we get connected to the play, proving that to enjoy Shakespeare all we have to do is understand him.

The fact that the movie is a documentary gives Pacino the freedom to talk to the camera, looking at it, something that doesn’t work well in fictional productions because the viewers get suddenly aware of the camera, but this is a documentary, it’s real life, we know the camera is always there. As in the stage play, Richard III talks directly to us, making us all accomplices of his plots and madness.

Pacino’s documentary is a work of fine quality, his directing is sometimes fantastic and all is done with love and carefulness, admiration and passion, making from this documentary a thesis about Shakespeare that will make you learn a lot about him, and maybe after seeing it you can feel the desire to run to the nearest bookstore and dust off all the classics.

Written by: Edward Olivier

Reviewers Rating: 9
Reader's Rating: 9.25
Reader's Votes: 4

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