Caucasian Chalk Circle Play Critique Essay

The Caucasian Chalk Circle play's main theme is justice. However, the other issues addressed by the film include class warfare, misuse of power, hypocrisy in religion, and motherhood. The movie is adapted from two main parables including Chinese Chalk Circle and the Bible's King Solomon. In the Chinese Chalk Circle, a false claimant is granted the chance of claiming the estate of her dead husband after she bribed the people in power. Unfortunately, the situation is overturned with the Emperor who guarantees law. In King Solomon's parable, two mothers give birth at a similar time, but one of the babies dies. Both the two women want to have custody of the baby that survived, and that is why King Solomon ruled that the babies should be cut into two (Brecht, Schmidt, & Clegg, 1967). Then the baby's real mother renounces her claim which makes her have the child's custody. I agree with the author's the main message because, in the two instances, the law is equated to justice since it is through it that the people involved can see justice. However, in the film, justice is not the case because the law cannot be relied on in giving a just verdict since there is a justice class which secures and protects all the ruling classes interests. Therefore, the book and movie indicate that the poor may only get justice in few circumstances.

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In the play of Caucasian Chalk circle, the protagonist is Grusha (Victoria Reibel) while the antagonists include the Fat Prince and Aniko (Rachel Cendrick). The protagonist represents the writer's main message of justice as she portrays goodness and righteousness throughout the play (Brecht & Beaton, 2009). She also portrays the author's main desire of a society which is built on the triumph and success of people in a low class by the wealthy individuals. Her motivation of portraying a world desire of being built on love, compassion, and kindness which makes sense to the main theme (justice). In the scene where Grusha discovered that the infant (Paul O'Neill) was abandoned by Aniko, her mother during the coup, she unwillingly realizes that it is important of her to take care of the infant for him to survive. She further flees with the infant to the mountains where she is pursued with the soldiers of Fat Prince. At one moment she sees the child as a burden and thinks of abandoning him with the peasant woman and her husband, but she later realizes that she is the only one with the ability to take care of the child. At the time when Fat Prince regime is turned, Aniko sends soldiers so that they can take away Adjutant. Grusha then stands trial contrary to Aniko, and she is proclaimed as the true mother of the child after refusing that the child should not be injured (Clfsdrama, 2013). The antagonists Aniko and Fat Prince motive of bribing and killing in order for justice not to be found passes the main message of the play writer.

The main conflict between the protagonist and antagonist is getting justice. Through the play, it is evident that an individual who can make good use of the available resources to provide for others deserve to get the resources. Grusha did everything to provide for the Fat Prince Nephew's although the mother comes later to claim her child. The Fat Prince also killed the brother to descend to the position of a governor (Brecht & Beaton, 2009).

In the film, the best actor was Christian Klepac (Fat Prince Kazbeki). He performed his roles well as while in power and killing the brother. While acting, he was confident meaning he believed in himself while performing. This is evident in the scene where he stages a coup and even kills his brother. He was also intelligent and captivated the different roles he was given.

The worst actor in the film was Paul O'Neill (Nephew to the Fat Prince). The reason is that he does not have emotional armor meaning he cannot express his emotions well. Furthermore, he lacks confidence in some instance he does not feel comfortable being in the scene making him hold up. From the performed scenes it is also evident that he was not comfortable with the language used in the film.

In the stage, a set is mainly significant in a play as compared to the other genre since it gives the main theme and mode of the play. The play was not set well in some of the scenes. For instance, the place where the governor enters the church while leaving the citizens behind (Clfsdrama, 2013). Therefore, to some extent, the set did not go well with the characters. However, the set portrayed the story and theme well. It can be evident where the governor is beheaded, and the maid takes care of the Prince well after the mother left him. Overall, the play was well set apart from a few instances. Through the setting, it was easier to understand the mood and atmosphere of the whole story.

The costumes of the play played a significant role in understanding the characters, theme, and story well. It played a role in convincing me of the plausibility of the costumes. The players were well dressed in different occasions. For instance, the maid was dressed as a maid as she played her different roles. Therefore, the player's costumes helped me understand the story well. The costumes communicated the details of the different characters personality. The color choices of the characters also helped in telling the story.

Light played a significant role in the Caucasian Chalk Circle play. It conveyed the atmosphere of different scenes. Light also helped in setting the mood of different characters and especially the one where the farmers were gathered. The lighting also helped in creating the emotions of actors and actresses. For instance, it helped in portraying the emotions of Aniko when Gushi took her to the judge (Clfsdrama, 2013). It also portrayed the farmer's emotions when the two group of peasants wanted to claim part of a valley which was abandoned during the World War II. Good lighting of the play also portrayed the film well through Gushi when she rescues the governor's son. Furthermore, darkening and spotting scenes in the film added emphasis on the main message that the producer wanted to pass to the audience.

Sound and score are some of the devices used by the producer to pass the main message of a story. In a play, the sound goes past getting the right production sound effect. Sound helped in establishing the location of different scenes in the play. It also helped in enhancing the atmosphere and mood of the film. Sound helped in conveying the needs of the farmers. The singer's sound also helped in conveying the playwriter's message in different instances.

References

Brecht, B., Schmidt, H., & Clegg, J. (1967). On" The Caucasian Chalk Circle". TDR (1967-1968), 12(1), 88-100.

Brecht, B., & Beaton, A. (2009). The Caucasian chalk circle. Bloomsbury Methuen Drama.

[Clfsdrama]. (2013, January 11). The Caucasian Chalk Circle [Video File]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jD26oq_DE8w