#is besson pissed at pratchett for that joke

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt3093522/

which involves lost heirs , wicked stepmothers , princesses disguised as pageboys , doppelgangers , deaths real & faked , ghosts , gods , omens & the political chaos in the roman empire following the death of julius caesar as the setting for an intergenerational family drama that involves a significant critique of the patriarchy for its times AND serves as a fixfic for R&J

& possibly MACBETH also

in a ttly chaotically anachronistic mashup of ancient / medieval / then-modern renaissance military & romantic fiction tropes

& the role that vondie curtis-hall is credited w is no mere random roman general

but the ambassador to a roman client state at first – a diplomat yep but NOT the kind who just hands arnd the cucumber sandwiches & foilcovered choclates – & then the leader of the invasion of britain after the client king announces that augustus is no julius & their old bargain is over

& a man who proves himself more decent & noble than the british nobles time & time again STANDS UP FOR THE IDEALS OF THE GENEVA CONVENTION CENTURIES B4 IT EXISTED

& who in the course of the multithreaded plot complications discovers the disguised princess in a desperate situation

thinks her a mere humble serving boy of no rank or importance

yet ! !

treats her kindly & takes her under his protection

telling her to think of him as a father

not as a boss

YEAH THIS

( oh & praises her work ethic skills & diligence to the skies later )

also HE HELPS SAVE THE DAY & BRING ABT PEACE BTWN THE REALMS AGN BY HAVING A RELIABLE SEER ON STAFF

who sorts out all the remaining mysteries to bring a happy ending

MYSTICAL EAGLES FIGURE PROMINENTLY IN THE TALE

also a highly symbolic RING as token of a faith / not / betrayed after all

its the SAME STORY & the shakespearean community is telling it hand-in-velvet-glove w that part of the fantasy-horror community that belongs to the resistance & not the wall –FYI  there is a lot of grue in CYMBELINE i warn everyone , lots of violence BOTH threatened & accomplished , VERY winterfell in feel

only w less actual rape & way more female empowerment both good & evil , since imogen WHO IS BEING PLAYED BY ANASTASIA STEELE ASDFJKL; ! !  is the one who steps forward out of her fears to SAVE EVERYONE in the end , the catalyst whose choice to reveal herself is the key to unlocking all the mysteries & bringing a joyful peace in place of war

& the wicked stepmother has her own complications beyond being a fairy tale caricature UTTERLY EVIL BUT ALSO CAPABLE OF HONESTY & BETTER CHOICES

& above all else its MUCH ADO ABT NOTHING fixfic

bc shakespeare doesnt just tackle the disappointing fizzle of MACBETHs WICKED QUEEN PLOTTING THE RUIN OF POLITICAL RIVALS FOR HER OWN DYNASTIC AIMS plot , or the spectacularly chaotic disaster of overcomplicated plots & missed connections = lovers dying in R&J – & yes clark-hall was in the 1996 ROMEO + JULIET too –

but the whole DUDE WHO IS SUPPOSED TO BE A ROMANTIC HERO DOUBTS HIS GIRLFRIENDS FAITHFULNESS & DUMPS HER BRUTALLY & ITS SUPPOSED TO BE A HAPPY ENDING WHEN HE TAKES HER BACK AFTER HE THINKS SHES DEAD & FEELS BAD which leaves such a bad taste in MUCH ADO bc claudio is just SUCH A JERK that nothing he does can make up for how he treated hero

welp

the untrusting lover in the much later story CYMBELINE has to be put thru the wringer

over & over & over again

humiliation conga before he can be worthy of his princess agn

& we see him agonize & beat himself up & suffer not just outwardly but go thru EVERYTHING HE DID WRONG & WHY HE WAS TTLY OUT OF LINE EVEN IF SHE DID CHEAT ON HIM W HIS EX BEST FRIEND HE WAS STILL THE BAD GUY IN THE SITUATION BC VIOLENCE IS NEVER THE RIGHT RESPONSE TO SEXUAL JEALOUSY which is way more feminist than a shitload of modern romances / action movies & our whole culture even today which shrugs it off as “man driven to anhiliating violence bc his ex is w someone else now”

there was a damn good reason max martini stepped up to be a spear-carrier in FIFTY SHADES OF GOR & it was the same good reason charlie hunnam threw himself on that 1st

tis a very tangled chain & long

but all the links connected

SO HOPING IT WINS A SILVER LION @ THE END OF THIS MONTH – I WANT IT TO GET WIDER RELEASE bc its one of the entries at the venice film festival where it debuts