Hamlet Goes Business

Aki Kaurismäki's 1987 film moves Shakespeare's play into Finnish business. Hamlet, who finds his father's body, lands in a fight over inheritance and control; his uncle plans to take the company and corner the Scandinavian rubber duck market. All the play's large questions are here, but the scale is deliberately ridiculous and the tragedy is reduced to a board meeting. Kaurismäki builds it in black and white with flat light and completely expressionless playing; the characters never show what they feel, which sits in permanent contrast with the weight of the text. It is regarded as the most formalist of his early works. The adaptation seeks no fidelity, planting the play inside his own black humour. Who it's for: viewers who like Kaurismäki and unconventional Shakespeare. Who it's not for: anyone wanting a faithful adaptation and an emotional register.