The Movie certainly has its qualities: carefully built characters, impressive costumes and scenery and an apparent skill in storytelling, at least in some places: the bigger hollywood productions of these days could probably learn tons here.
That being said I don't think it's a great movie. It's hard to follow at some points, especially at the battle scene and in its more experimental sequences. Here, heavy with meaning symbols are extensively presented, which not only makes the plot appear very drawn out but also hard to grasp: they are so abstract at times that picking up on them is rather unlikely, unless you have a profound literary background knowledge and a trained eye of course. The strong influence of classical theatre is also only a plus for the more educated: for instance characters proclaiming their thoughts and feelings is a necissity on stage, but in film this feels kind of out of place. The same goes for the demonstrative use of the names of the scene of events: it's obviously a legitimate means of conveying critical information and also meaning in a script of a play, but film offers so many more and much more effective options than that. Also: Why is "going insane" such a must-have plot item in a classical drama?
All in all it's a movie that definitely will have its place in the collections of enthusiasts, but to everyone else it might just be too tough to chew. If you're not into Shakespeare or theatre in general, this movie probably isn't too enjoyable for you.
That being said I don't think it's a great movie. It's hard to follow at some points, especially at the battle scene and in its more experimental sequences. Here, heavy with meaning symbols are extensively presented, which not only makes the plot appear very drawn out but also hard to grasp: they are so abstract at times that picking up on them is rather unlikely, unless you have a profound literary background knowledge and a trained eye of course. The strong influence of classical theatre is also only a plus for the more educated: for instance characters proclaiming their thoughts and feelings is a necissity on stage, but in film this feels kind of out of place. The same goes for the demonstrative use of the names of the scene of events: it's obviously a legitimate means of conveying critical information and also meaning in a script of a play, but film offers so many more and much more effective options than that. Also: Why is "going insane" such a must-have plot item in a classical drama?
All in all it's a movie that definitely will have its place in the collections of enthusiasts, but to everyone else it might just be too tough to chew. If you're not into Shakespeare or theatre in general, this movie probably isn't too enjoyable for you.