A Tempestade (2010)

Shakespeare's epic play is translated from page to screen, with the gender of the main character, Prospero, changed from male to female.

Director:

Julie Taymor

Writers:

Julie Taymor (screenplay), William Shakespeare (play)

Stars:

Helen Mirren, Felicity Jones, Djimon Hounsou

Nominated for 1 Oscar. Another 2 wins & 3 nominations.

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Felicity Jones	...	Miranda
Jude Akuwudike	...	Boatswain
Reeve Carney	...	Prince Ferdinand
David Strathairn	...	King Alonso
Tom Conti	...	Gonzalo
Alan Cumming	...	Sebastian
Chris Cooper	...	Antonio
Helen Mirren	...	Prospera
Ben Whishaw	...	Ariel
Djimon Hounsou	...	Caliban
Russell Brand	...	Trinculo
Alfred Molina	...	Stephano
David Scott Klein	...	Prospera's Husband
Bryan Webster	...	Guard

Storyline

In Julie Taymor's version of 'The Tempest,' the main character is now a woman named Prospera. Going back to the 16th or 17th century, women practicing the magical arts of alchemy were often convicted of witchcraft. In Taymor's version, Prospera is usurped by her brother and sent off with her four-year daughter on a ship. She ends up on an island; it's a tabula rasa: no society, so the mother figure becomes a father figure to Miranda. This leads to the power struggle and balance between Caliban and Prospera; a struggle not about brawn, but about intellect.

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Plot Keywords:

female protagonist | storm at sea | staff | spirit | banishment | 

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Genres:

Comedy | Drama | Fantasy | Romance

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Certificate:

M/12

Details

Official Sites:

Official Facebook Official site [Japan]

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

3 March 2011 (Portugal)

Also Known As:

A Tempestade

Filming Locations:

Steiner Studios, New York City, New York, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$20,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$42,436, 12 December 2010, Limited Release

Gross USA:

$277,943

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$405,861

Company Credits

Production Co:

Miramax,TalkStory Productions,Artemis Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

110 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital SDDS DTS

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

John Gielgud previously played the role of Prospero in Peter Greenaway's film Os Livros de Próspero (1991). That makes this film actually the first of two in which Helen Mirren has succeeded Gielgud. They very next year, she appeared in Gielgud's role in the remake Arthur (2011), which coincidentally also starred Russell Brand.

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Goofs

The chessboard that Miranda uses is set up 90 degrees rotated from its proper position. Facing the board, each player should have a white square on the far right of their back rank. This board is positioned so that the black squares are on that side.

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Quotes

Prospera: I will plague them all, even to roaring!

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Crazy Credits

Throughout the credits we see Prospera's books sinking in the ocean one by one, presumably after she tossed each of them in.

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Connections

Version of The Tempest (1980)

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Soundtracks

Darkened Sands
Performed by Ben Whishaw
Music by Elliot Goldenthal
Lyrics by William Shakespeare

User Reviews

Lacklustre effort

Shakespeare's last play The Tempest tells the tale of a sorcerer Prospera and her daughter who have been cast off and banished and find themselves on a barren island where she takes Caliban as her slave. Many years later she creates a tempest to wreck the ship carrying those that banished her and the survivors of the ship find themselves on the island including the kings son who falls for Prospera's daughter. Throw in a spirit slave who helps Prospera bring the newcomers to her and the slaves of the King who side with Caliban to destroy Prospera and you have a real blend of genres. Julie Taymor brings another Shakespeare play to the big screen after her magnificent version of Titus. The Tempest is really a blend of drama, romance, fantasy and comedy and with it's supernatural and magical elements it's quite a story to bring to the big screen. Changing the lead of Prospero to a female role, makes little difference and Helen Mirren as Prospera is very good, but performance wise she is the only standout with the rest of the cast going through the paces; and casting Russel Brand as the jester does not bring enough light relief and makes me wonder since when did Russel Brand become an actor? Taymor tries to makes this as natural as possible, but that's difficult to achieve with it's fantastical elements and many of the these moments fail, including the spirit Ariel, whose appearances are like Caspar The Ghost and only when he appears as a sign of madness to the king and his men as a dark ominous bird does the fantasy finally work. The film also feels stilted at times and for something that contains so much fantasy and magic it feels for the most part bland and dull and bad use of music, much of which sounds like something from a bad rock music doesn't help achieve anything. Interesting use of landscapes and Mirren's performance are worthy elements but that's not enough to redeem the film, which with Taymor at the helm doesn't work nearly as well as her previous efforts.