Directed by Derek Jarman
Summary: This film is director Derek Jarman's adaptation and interpretation of what may have been Shakespeare's final play. Jarman radically reinterprets what is presented in Shakespeare's dramatic text. Jarman's Prospero seems to manipulate the whole scheme of revenge and restoration, but characters and events threaten to go beyond the control of the internal director Prospero
The film is set on a barren island where Prospero on his 19th century clothing resides in his ghostly Stoneleigh Abbey. Ariel's presence symbolizes Prospero's desire and unconscious. Ariel's performance of the tempest that shipwrecks the king and his men is seen in Prospero dream, and this dream becomes a nightmare that wakes him up.
Caliban's abrupt laugh and swallowing of raw eggs, while speaking lines from Shakespeare's text, draws our attention to his attempts to destroy Prospero's plan: by distaining Miranda's virginity Caliban may people his island and perpetuate his race. Without Miranda Prospero could never succeed with his plans for restoration. Caliban intends to subvert those plans by showing the possibility of eating Prospero's royal seed, but this subversive power is only temporary.
The heir apparent Ferdinand, separated from his father King Alonso and others, reaches the shore naked, carrying only a sword. He goes to Prospero's house to get warm near the hearth and falls asleep. Prospero wakes him up and threatens him with a sword; the patriarchal manifestation, suggested by the sword, now seems to be taken by Prospero. Prospero even downgrades Ferdinand to a servant: "this is a Caliban." Caliban is happy to see Ferdinand as a slave; he plays a musical instrument when Prospeo is locking up Ferdinand and ordering him to work.
At a different spot on the shoreline the king and his men fall asleep, except Sebastian and Antonio. The two conspire to murder and take the place of the king, but Ariel calls out to the king and others to wake them up. Prospero tells and shows Miranda the history of their family by use of his magic staff, emphasizing their orthodoxy and royal position, while at the same time Caliban stands silently and motionlessly behind them.
At yet another place on the shore, the sailor Trinculo and the cook Stephano meet Caliban. Caliban expresses his humbleness and obedience to them, and he tells them how his island was robbed by Prospero. The three form a revolutionary team and march toward Prospero's house. In the house Ariel asks Prospero about his liberty. Prospero recalls Ariel's memory of the tyrannical Sycorax, who is presented in a scene from the past as a smoking, fat, naked woman, breast-feeding Caliban and enslaving Ariel. By demand from Prospero, Ariel performs magic, first, creating the sound of a hound to scare off Caliban's drunk rebel, and, second, playing attractive, sweet music to Alonso and his men as dwarfs tease them. Then Alonso and others are cast into a spell in which they are imprisoned and fall asleep.
The wedding of Miranda and Ferdinand opens with dance music and a sailors' circle dance, which is performed in front of the still-sleeping king and others. When the dance and the music are stopped, Prospero wakes them up, and they are reconciled. Alonso blesses the marriage of Ferdinand and Miranda. Ariel then is allowed to go free into the elements. Walking through the chorus line of sailors, the veteran black musical comedy star Elizabeth Welch sings "Stormy Weather."
The last scene presents Ariel on Prospero's throne while Prospero is sleeping at the table, and then Ariel runs and disappears while singing. Prospero delivers the epilogue: "life is rounded with sleep." His desires seem not to be gone with Ariel's liberty into elements. Jarman's movie is a depiction of desire, power and revolt, presented as a space that links reality and sleep.
Other Reviews:
a masterwork of english romanticism, February 24, 2000
Reviewer: GODFREY HAMILTON from los angeles
I saw this glorious masterwork in london at its premiere 20 years ago; in those days a new jarman movie was an event you attended without even asking what exactly you were going to see. the great renaissance man and last torchbearer of the englsih romantic tradition, jarman was a popular artist and hugely likeable man-about-town - he seemed to be everywhere - sitting next to you in pizza express, behind you at the theatre, hanging out on a street corner in the charing cross road gossiping with his friends. 'the tempest' was shown, interestingly, with jarman's three short films of songs from marianne faithfull's 'broken english' album, which had just been released. the combination of marianne's 'witches song' and prospero's 'cloud capp'd towers'speech (which marianne would herself record on 'secret life' some fifteen years later) defines that particular and poignant moment in UK post-punk culture. jarman places that speech at the end of the film, jettisoning shakespeare's finale/farewell to his art in favor of something more transformational, and moving, and transcendent. at least, that's how it plays. this is a gorgeous magickal masterpiece by the late and much-loved jarman, a true visionary among filmmakers. a previous review purports to be written by a teacher of english who cannot be bothered consistently to spell jarman's name correctly,and is bothered by the (also late, and lamented) jack birkett's rendering of caliban, suckling at sycorax's breast (sycorax being portrayed by the splendid claire davenport). there's not a 9th grade class -or its equivalent- in the united kingdom that would find such scenes perverse, or boring, or sniggerworthy, which might give some pause for thought about the nature of prurience in american society - and its sources. but then i'd worry about any teacher who thinks that "as a teacher of english, seleced (sic) scenes were worth showing to my ninth grade class" is an intelligible or accurate construction. oh, and by the way - the other great rendition of 'the tempest' on film is 'forbidden planet' which finds a wonderful visual poetry to tell a respectfully faithful sci-fi adaptation of shakespeare's most beguiling play.
Quuoted from Amazon Customer Review
Reviewer: A viewer from San Francisco, CA USA
I was dragged, kicking & screaming, to this film the first time I saw it. Staggeringly enough, I wound up being utterly captivated. While the film most closely resembles a fantasia on themes from Shakespeare's play, its spirit is so at one with the original I don't think anyone but the most literal-minded purist could possibly object. With appallingly limited means, but a virtually limitless visual imagination, Jarman creates a true world of wonder. There are moments of stunning beauty throughout -- Miranda's vision of herself as a child, Ferdinand dragging himself naked from the sea and staggering, half-drowned, along the shore -- and magnificent character choices -- Karl Johnson's still, sad-faced Ariel, Jack Birkett's egg-sucking, North Country Caliban, Heathcote Williams' youthful, vigorous, anarchic Prospero. All crowned, however, by an indescribably joyous "wedding masque" -- a loopy sailors dance followed by Elizabeth Welch sweeping in, all in gold, to sing (what else?)"Stormy Weather" as the entire cast practically melts in bliss. Only certain segments of Fellini's "The Clowns" have ever made me catch my breath the way I did repeatedly during this film. Made on a shoestring, this film is a triumph of wit & imagination. I tear up just thinking about it.
Quuoted from Amazon Customer Review