LOVE’S LABOUR’S LOST

(by Kenneth Branagh)

Shakespeare in a Musical. Or better, a Musical placed upon a Shakespeare’s plot.

After “Hamlet”, Branagh can wonder us, with this “Love’s Labour’s Lost”. Shakespeare, now, shifts in 1939, closely next the beginning of the Second World War.

For a very tasteful work, in which irony well mixes to sorrow, and melancholy.

The characters of the Musical, almost for which we can observe, are respected. Scenes that make a cornice of what we see on the screen, maybe detachet from the main plot.

Love is the Theme. Love and love loss. The King of Navarra made a judgement of loving no woman, and to spend all the time in studying and practicing Philosophy.

So, love may appear in contrast to study and creating masterpieces.

But it’s not so: it’s enough to tkink of the big poets, whose poetry was great for the fact of dedicating them to a woman, to be inspired by her.

Love is so often the engine of Art. The best songs are Love ones.

Love is expression, is a very strong engine of Life, thanks Love, Man is able of doing a lot of think, crossing over troubles and problems. Thought the sublimation of this feeling, we are able to free our fantasy, with the result of making Life capable to have that inspirations, that situation that can allow the creation of some incredible works, expressing all the beauty of being human.

This may be a theme. And an important one. That may open a reflection: Art is separation of Reality, of the Generation of Art derives from living life?

The answer is suspended: we can imagine an Artist detached from Life and Life pleasures. But we have a lot of examples about Artists able to produce masterpieces by living life in the deepest sense of the word.

In this way, we can see this like an afraid of love. Like an afraid of feeling true love.

Or, maybe, like oftenly in Shakespearian Spirit, it’s only a way of giving us the opportunity of being humorous and describing agreeable situations, making ourselves smile, or maybe giving the chance to dream.

Music helps in this aim. In a Musical, Music is very important to give the rhythm to all the story, also for these fragments in which Dance is quite a bit outside the line of the story. In this way, music involves, captures the spectator.

Shakespeare, like I said before, in some of his works, can show humor. And Branagh, with this work, takes the humour of Shakespeare and transposes it in Music, in Dances. Proving that, the spirit of a masterpiece of Literature, can be conserved also without performing a heavy work.

Here, we have the true spirit of Shakespeare. Branagh succeeds in giving us all the spirit of ancient literature, also if this one is transposed into the 20^th Century, into a completely different Historical Situation.

We know the love of Branagh for Shakespeare. And this operation proves that who deeply have inside it the “spirit” of an author, may change some thing, like time, environment and so on, without giving an alteration to the Author himself. Till transforming a comedy by Shakespeare in a Musical: no matters, the true spirit of the Author is saved.

Cinema and Theatre. In this way, also if we are looking at a Film, the spirit seems to be the one of a Theatral work.

The external, and ballets, seems to be placed on a scenic. There is quite a little unreality in all the environment. Scenes, also if well built-up, appears non realistic.

But it’s, probably, in Branagh’s aims. In performing a comedy for theatre, he wished to respect the spirit of theatre. Conserving, also in Cinema, a Theatre spirit, a theatre movement. Like ballets might be on a scenic, like in a Musical from alive, like a “Broadway Musical”. But without loosing the deep Shakesperian mood.

With a note of taste: in the work, we can notice some images of an hypothetical Reality. Like they were some repertory ones.

This gives some documentary taste to Theatral-Cinematografic one.

And it’s very successful. To remark the fact that the repertory images are in black and white, like they were historical ones. Historical fiction inside Thetral Fiction. A good idea, giving interest to an attractive work.

Branagh performed a very softly and tasteful work, rich of spirit and agreeable to be seen.

Also to affirm, in full Shakespearian Spirit, that “Love wins above all”.

Sergio Ragaini