Caesar Must Die

Synopsis & Film Details

The Hollywood Reporter calls this Italian drama “a fascinating encounter between theater and reality.” Winner of the prestigious Golden Bear prize at the 2012 Berlin International Film Festival, the movie follows a group of real-life convicts as they rehearse for a performance of Shakespeare’s tragedy Julius Caesar. Rebibbia Prison in Rome serves as the theater, as the prisoners compete for roles, immerse themselves in their characters, and carry their anxieties and hopes back to their cells each night after rehearsals. As the inmates struggle, their angry confrontations put the show in danger. On the anticipated opening night, the play is a success. But one inmate sums up the bittersweet experience: “Since I have known art, this cell has turned into a prison.” Directed by famed Italian filmmaker brothers Paolo Taviani and Vittorio Taviani. In Italian, with English subtitles.

Discussion Circle
After the 5:30 p.m. show, join Fresno State professors Laurel and Howard Hendrix to talk about the film. Laurel Hendrix teaches Renaissance and late medieval literature, including Shakespeare. She has published articles on Edmund Spenser’s Faerie Queene, Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales, and Marguerite de Navarre’s Heptameron, and she is currently teaching a course on Shakespeare and film. Howard V. Hendrix teaches literature and writing courses. He is the author of six novels and dozens of short stories. He has essays in current and forthcoming issues of Boom: A Journal of California (UC Press) and a novella due out shortly from Analog magazine. Discussion moderated by Filmworks board member Jefferson Beavers.

Filmworks thanks K-Jewel FM 99.3, The Fresno Bee, Vida en el Valle, and Stella Artois for their support.