Satisfied with "Romeo + Juliet"
※This article is about movie "Romeo + Juliet." I translated my previous Japanese blog into English one to study English. The following is Japanese one. If you are good at English, please read it and give me advice.
（これは私の過去の『ロミオ＆ジュリエット』のブログを、勉強のため英語に書き直したものです。以下が日本語版です）
CONTENTS
Leonardo DiCaprio as Romeo Claire Danes as Juliet In Verona Beach, two mafias, Montague and Capulet are in conflict for a long time. At one night, Romeo, son of Montague, met Juliet and they were fell in love. However, Juliet is daughter of Capulet...... Before I watched this movie, I read Romeo and Juliet in Japanese, again. I will think about this movie with comparing with two works. This article is too long and self-important. And I am not good at English...It may be the worst one. The modification created "a comfortable discord"!! The first scene of this movie, there were two buildings with their own signs on top and between them, huge Christ's statue (made of CG?) stood. I understood the movie's world view to see this scene and smiled instantly. One more funny point is the littleness of changing serifs in spite of the story set in modern world. Of course, many serifs have cut because of a shorter story size, but characters spoke as almost the same of Shakespeare's original script in aloha shirt with holding theirs guns ("Sword" company's) at the ready. Moreover, 'thy' and 'thee' of the Middle English was used in the movie. On the one hand a reverent priest had a tattoo of the cross on his back, but on the other hand he spoke a polished and beautiful words! I fell into a jumble! However, the structure was match curiously. Although we feel gross, we are interested in it......It is like a dangerous drug! Although the two mafias top of Verona Beach are white person and most of the characters are white too, Mercutio and the Prince are only black person. What dose this strange casting express? Is it mere contempt for black person by casting as a clownish character? However, if a black one is casted as Mercutio, another black person will be casted as Prince who is ruler of town. As a result, a fictional town where Blacks dominate whites will be born. (This movie was released in 1996 when there was no Obama.) In fact, the casting was adopted, and the fictional Verona Beach was created. In a nutshell, Verona Beach is true imaginary town. (I think it is not easy to express it as “beautiful tragedy” because there was vulgar metaphor in original one.) Is it wrong to find Luhrmann’s burning ambition in this movie which brought the middle age world to present and was rewritten Shakespeare’s drama into Baz Luhrmann’s?1.About movie
2.Story (spoiler-free)
3.My interpretation (with spoiler!!)
1.Audacious new interpret! “Halfway?” modification!
When you hear "the modern Romeo and Juliet", you can imagine some works. (In my case, I remember an Indian movie "Fanaa". It is a great movie.) Because the word of "Romeo and Juliet" has already become a synonym for a tragical love story which has the cause of hate. However! This movie is a literal modern Romeo and Juliet. The story of UK in Shakespeare's era (16c) is brought our present world as serifs and the scenario was.2.Mercutio
One of the most remarkable changed characters is Mercutio who is Romeo’s best friend and cousin of Prince of Verona Beach. A clownish and an ugly man shows up as more unique one in the movie.
Firstly, he is a black person. (The following is one opinion based on non-negligible problem in today. It is not expression of my own distinction and prejudice.)
I think the object of this strange casting is to create this insubstantial stage. I wrote in section.1, audacious new interpret and halfway modification already destroyed the natural scenario, and black Mercutio accelerated this destruction.
Moreover, Mercutio brings homosexuality view to this movie. In Capulet house party scene, his disguise reminded me of the doctor who is from Transsexual Star. (The Rocky Horror Show is a great movie…Please watch it.) Male he disguised as female and sang female song. I imagine…did he love Romeo as male? The basis of my opinion scene is Romeo told Mercutio about his love for Juliet. (Actually, Mercutio mistook that Romeo loved Rosalind) In this scene, Mercutio abused Romeo’s love. Was his hatred for Romeo only because his love for Romeo? However, to refer to Mercutio’s curse for Montague and Capulet in his last scene, this opinion is overthinking…3.Vile movie (This expression is too exaggeration)
Although I wrote “a reverent priest” in section.1, is Friar Laurence a true “reverent” one in this movie? In the first place, it is doubtful that he connected with mafias. And he grows plants in the house on the roof. Are they normal ones? He said that they have potency to become a medicine or a poison. A medicine……a dangerous drug? (This may be overthinking too.)
Drugs were used normally in this movie. I was surprised to see the scene Romeo tripped in Capulet party. A heart sharp pierced with arrow was printed in surface of the drug, and the figure seemed to be a metaphor of love. It is interesting this figure was on the drug. It is likely that love is only hallucination.
This interpretation is not wrong entirely. Romeo was described as a character “the puppet of fate” in original scenario. His own characteristics did not appear, he just loved Juliet and died of his love. In short, he is simple man. For example, he killed Tybalt because Tybalt killed Mercutio…despite of Tybalt had become his relative. Such a Romeo, I can agree to that his love is only hallucination and this movie implied the banter.
If my interpretation was true, a beautiful and cool Romeo will change meaningless person. But I will argue one more opinion that this movie tried to take away excessive veils of praise from “Romeo and Juliet” which is one of the most wonderful works in this world.4. The tragedy ended as mere one case
Original Romeo and Juliet ended with reconciliation between Montague and Capulet because of death of Romeo and Juliet. In a sense, it contained Christian lesson. (ex. Prince express the death was Heaven’s judgement.) This movie had Christian aspects, too. For example, there are many scenes of Christ’s statue and cross (it was sometimes lightened up), and even the title includes cross. ("Romeo + Juliet") This is quite that whole movie is screaming “This is Christianity!!” However, at the last moment, the lesson vanished. This point is an extremely difference between movie and original text.
This movie story is about mere one case in the town. It expressed whole story was one topic of news by repeating same phrase on purpose at the beginning. In this movie, the tragedy changed to mere one case and it is not the story ended with “…and they all lived happily ever after.” because two mafias will never reach a settlement. Finally, the news finished and vanished as screen sandstorm just like people forgot the story.
A masterpiece in this world, Romeo and Juliet … this movie changed it to such a vulgar and simple one by new setting and interpretation. However, this is not bad work. It is another precious one. Although Baz Luhrmann must love Shakespeare, I guess that this movie is a challenge to the great playwright.
