Film Podcast #25: Broken and Caesar Must Die

Film Podcast #25: Broken and Caesar Must Die by The Double Negative on Mixcloud

DW Mault reviews violent family drama Broken, and Italian prison docudrama Caesar Must Die.

Loosely based on To Kill A Mocking Bird, Broken, by award-winning theatre and opera director Rufus Norris, tells the story of Skunk (Eloise Laurence), a charming and vulnerable 11-year-old girl with diabetes. She and her dad Archie (Tim Roth) live in a suburban close in London alongside problem family the Oswalds (led by dad Rory Kinnear). After Skunk witnesses a violent attack on neighbour Rick (Robert Emms), a young man with learning difficulties, a spiral of unfortunate consequences follows, including the loss of childhood innocence and broken relationships. Also starring Cillian Murphy as Skunk’s teacher.

Directed by award-winning brothers Paolo Taviani and Vittorio Taviani, and shot entirely in black and white, Caesar Must Die follows real inmates at the Rebibbia, a high-security prison in Rome, as they prepare for their public performance of Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar. By dwelling on the play’s interplay of friendship, deceit, betrayal, power and violence, rather than the actors real-life crimes, their own personal stories and fears for the future are explored.

“We hope that when the film is released to the general public that cinemagoers will say to themselves or even those around them… that even a prisoner with a dreadful sentence, even a life sentence, is and remains a human being” – Paolo Taviani

Hosted by director and cineaste DW Mault, with special guest, writer and cineaste Matthew Fox.

Watch the trailers for Broken and Caesar Must Die

Posted on 18/03/2013 by thedoublenegative