Moviola > Films > As You Like It

As You Like It  (12A)  126 mins

Kenneth Branagh's mission in life is to make Shakespeare accessible, and his film versions of Henry V and Much Ado About Nothing have rightly established themselves as classics.  Here he takes on one of the Bard's most delightful comedies, boldly transposes it to late 19th century Japan, and directs a fabulous multinational cast.  Bryce Dallas Howard is Rosalind, who spends half the play disguised as the boy Ganymede, with strong support from Romola Garai as Celia.  David Oyelowo plays Orlando,  Alfred Molina Touchstone and Kevin Kline the melancholy Jaques.  Branagh stalwarts Richard Briers and Brian Blessed also feature.  This is an enchanting story of romantic entanglements and a sumptuous feast for the eyes, all set in the magical Forest of Arden.  According to an interview in the Daily Telegraph, Branagh "has been influenced by his voluminous research into Japanese literature and his interest in the English adventurers who went to Japan in the 19th century. Although it is being filmed at Shepperton and on location in West Sussex, Branagh wants to invoke what he calls the beauty and simplicity of the Japanese landscape, while making the Forest of Arden a much wilder, more surreal place. He is also taking advantage of the Japanese setting to borrow from the martial arts world and to underline the dangers inherent in the play which he feels are often neglected in stage productions." 

Last modified: 20-Jun-2008

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