Julius Caesar

A micro-budget Shakespeare adaptation made by The British Youth Film Academy, with a cast and crew nearly all still in their teens, may not sound that enticing, but this was an unexpected highlight of the 19th Raindance Film Festival in London. Not just a good film for something made by young amateurs, but a good film full stop. Shot in a derelict brewery,in noirish black and white, this is a truly cinematic film, a quality sadly lacking in most of the other British films I saw at the festival.The age of the cast, although initially disconcerting, is made a virtue by portraying the citizens of Rome as roaming gangs and there are several very good performances by the young cast.