Shakespeare Tong Tai (2012)

A dictator sits alone in his dark mansion, grieving for his mad, dead wife, as a mass uprising rages against him. Elsewhere in a theater, Shakespeare's Macbeth is being staged; its scenes inter-cut with his flashbacks to tell the story of an ambitious general who, prompted by witches, kills the king to crown himself. The darkly comic horror movie elements pale before the real horror of watching a once happy couple descend into separate hell of spiritual corruption and insanity. This Thai vision of Macbeth is made at a time of grievous sociopolitical uncertainty in Thailand. At times, the filming went on as Bangkok burned during the red shirt violence of April-May 2010. This is Shakespeare by people who are living through Shakespearean times.