Judging by the comments written previously,it seems that very few of the critics have sen this show done on the stage.Indeed,the only production that I have seen was at Ohio State University in May,1973.And it's the staging,and the transformations that occur on the stage,that makes it magical.
The play looks at cultural clash between 2 totalitarian cultures;The Europeans,who place an emphasis on choice and free will;and the Incas,who live in a rigid,regimented society where everyone does as he is told,and are consequently taken care of.It's the ultimate in welfare states.
Pizarro,in real life,was a brutal,bloodthirsty,cruel cutthroat,with the sensitivity of a mack truck.While lacking in true intelligence,he was nonetheless crafty and calculating,and an able conqueror,and later Spanish Viceroy of Peru.And in this story,we have this hard bitten adventurer going through an existential,"mid-life" crisis,searching for spiritual values,and a meaning for a more virtuous life.OK,so we've got an interpretation,and not a true historical drama.We can live with that.
The real Atualpha was probably a naive dupe,trusting to the honor of the Spaniards,and paying,in the end,with his life.But Plummer gives the most off-the -wall performance of his career.While lunatics have had an accepted role in primitive cultures,it's usually in some sort of shaman role,not as the ruler.
The real magic,alluded to earlier in this review,is in taking the story,as it develops,and giving a highly stylized rendition of the narrated event.The scaling of the Andes Mountains;the massacre and capture of the Inca;the retaliation and surrounding by the Indians;and the trial and strangulation of the Inca;are all seen as a symbolic representation on the stage.By showing it literally,as they do in this film,would require an epic budget.And,consequently,it just doesn't come across.We need a huge production,and this isn't it.
Pizarro is a man,disillusioned with his own culture,and looking for redemption and a salvation,of sorts.He hopes to find it in the Inca society,something to give meaning to his own lonely,empty existence.He hopes,against hope,that Atualpha will resurrect from his execution,and validates Pizarro's hopes.And the failure of this revival leaves the old freebooter shattered.There should have been a greater emphasis on THIS,and not on a cut-rate epic.
The play looks at cultural clash between 2 totalitarian cultures;The Europeans,who place an emphasis on choice and free will;and the Incas,who live in a rigid,regimented society where everyone does as he is told,and are consequently taken care of.It's the ultimate in welfare states.
Pizarro,in real life,was a brutal,bloodthirsty,cruel cutthroat,with the sensitivity of a mack truck.While lacking in true intelligence,he was nonetheless crafty and calculating,and an able conqueror,and later Spanish Viceroy of Peru.And in this story,we have this hard bitten adventurer going through an existential,"mid-life" crisis,searching for spiritual values,and a meaning for a more virtuous life.OK,so we've got an interpretation,and not a true historical drama.We can live with that.
The real Atualpha was probably a naive dupe,trusting to the honor of the Spaniards,and paying,in the end,with his life.But Plummer gives the most off-the -wall performance of his career.While lunatics have had an accepted role in primitive cultures,it's usually in some sort of shaman role,not as the ruler.
The real magic,alluded to earlier in this review,is in taking the story,as it develops,and giving a highly stylized rendition of the narrated event.The scaling of the Andes Mountains;the massacre and capture of the Inca;the retaliation and surrounding by the Indians;and the trial and strangulation of the Inca;are all seen as a symbolic representation on the stage.By showing it literally,as they do in this film,would require an epic budget.And,consequently,it just doesn't come across.We need a huge production,and this isn't it.
Pizarro is a man,disillusioned with his own culture,and looking for redemption and a salvation,of sorts.He hopes to find it in the Inca society,something to give meaning to his own lonely,empty existence.He hopes,against hope,that Atualpha will resurrect from his execution,and validates Pizarro's hopes.And the failure of this revival leaves the old freebooter shattered.There should have been a greater emphasis on THIS,and not on a cut-rate epic.