I found this exciting story on MYmovies.it and if you’ll indulge me one more time I’ll try to translate; remember, my Italian is quite imperfect:
On the fourth day of the German festival (Berlinale – Berlin Film Festival) , here’s the good news: Italy could win the Golden Bear, or another important prize. Paolo and Vittorio Taviani, 81 and 83 years-old respectivally, already at Berlin in 2007 with The Lark Farm (La masseria delle allodole), have won over the press and the international public with the docufilm Caesar Must Die, opening in Italian movie theaters March 2.
A standing ovation overwhelmed the two directors at the official screening, an important welcome for a difficult project: a prison drama, within the walls of Rome’s Rebibbia Prison. Prisoners and a director (Fabio Cavalli) stage one of the more well-known and the most over-done: Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar. It could have been mostly a social experiment, but instead for the Taviani brothers the plot serves to bridge the gap between fact and fiction. As the original speaks of betrayal and loyalty: “We are men of honor!”, prisoner Antonio (Antonio Frasca) cries out with contempt on the prison’s imaginary stage, referring to the assassination of Caesar. These aren’t words that are used casually: some of the prisoners are Mafioso and the sentiment prevails among all of them in the bitter awareness of the penalty of a prison sentence.
“Art can save”, says Brutus (the wonderful Salvatore Striano), who was released from prison and now works as an actor. The prisoners that we see on the screen are given a new life that makes a difference to everyone inside the prison. The Tavianis found them like this and they are faces that will remain stamped indelibly in our memory.
I Love Italian Everything 