A Caribbean Dream, 2017.
Directed by Shakirah Bourne.
Starring Adrian Green, Susannah Harker, Sam Gillett, Jherad Alleyne, Marina Bye, Patrick Michael Foster, and Aden Gillett.
SYNOPSIS:
A reworking of the Shakespeare fairy tale “A Midsummer Night’s Dream”, set in a modern day Barbados.
A Caribbean Dream offers a fresh approach to telling the Shakespeare comedic fairy tale A Midsummer Night’s Dream. The film creates a fun and fluid look at the sights of modern Barbados, while keeping pace with the absurdities and comedic touches in style.
The story largely sticks to the original Shakespearean language, but also mixes in some Basian slang expressions, adding to the melodious flow of the whole feel. The intricacies of the plot are secondary to the look of the piece, and even if at points the film begins to resemble the amateur play production so amusingly put on by Bottom (Lorna Gayle) and her fishermen, it never fails to be anything less than enjoyable. The sets sometimes look a little low-budget but the imagination at work in the telling more than makes up for this.
As in the original play, the story concentrates on the fickle nature of love and attraction, with betrothals and undying commitments to cherish each other arriving at nearly every other scene. This is combined with a chaotic, almost slapstick sort of comedy that brings out an essential joy of life. Shakirah Bourne’s adaptation also does well in examining the love lives of all the characters both young and old, with the quartet of young lovers constantly being intoxicated with fairy dust while their elders also manage the complexities of relationships.
The primary success of the film is undoubtedly the stunning visuals. The cinematography and choreography of the dance numbers are fantastically well done, and put this production a notch above just a generalised update of a Shakespeare classic. Where it falls short is in some of the dialogue of the characters. With such a huge cast it is not always the easiest to remember who is who and what they are up to. This isn’t helped with some of the language – particular when faithfully sticking to the Shakespearean – sounding slightly dry at points. For the most part though, the blending of modern Basian and older English flows pretty well. Overall, the film presents a lively and uplifting slice of entertainment in the sun.
Flickering Myth Rating – Film: ★ ★ ★ / Movie: ★ ★ ★
Robert W Monk is a freelance journalist and film writer.
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Originally published February 12, 2018. Updated April 11, 2018.
