trinculo and stephano

I can't remember exactly when I saw it, but I know that The Cook, the Thief, His Wife and Her Lover was my introduction to Peter Greenaway films and seeing it made a real impression on me. Visually speaking it was unlike anything else I had ever seen at the time. People were walking around in these lush sets that were highly theatrical as a young boy sang periodically throughout the film. From time to time this boy would interact with the other characters, but functioned more as a living soundtrack if I remember correctly. As for the story, it made sense, but was not something that could be easily digested, because none of the characters were clearly defined in moral terms. It was not something that Hollywood would have made.

The next Greenaway film that I saw was Prospero's Books, which was even better in my opinion, but that might have to do with my love of anything related to Shakespeare. John Gielgud as Prospero was the only person who spoke in the entire film. Everyone else was his to control in his private drama. Despite the change in title, Greenaway stayed true to the text of The Tempest and made me appreciate the play more than I had in the past. Plus the film was far more fantastical than any production of The Tempest that I had ever seen on the stage.

Now I can add A Zed and Two Noughts to my list of Greenaway films that I have seen and as was the case with the other two movies, it is very distinctive in terms of both story and execution. Who else would make a movie about twin zoologists who film decaying fruit and animals? Who else would provide a woman who loses one of her legs in an automobile accident as a love interest for the twins? Finally there is a character that recreates Vermeer paintings to round out the main cast.

 
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