Hamlet on AllMovie

Director Aleksandar Rajkovic takes his cue from the Yugoslavian "Black Wave" movement of the 1960s for this adaptation of the William Shakespeare classic set in a 21st century Belgrade garbage dump. The buildings that Shakespeare described as castles are now ramshackle slum houses, and gangs of Orthodox Roma have entered into a heated confrontation with local Muslims over the distribution of the trash that occupies the massive landfill. Winter has fallen on Serbia, and in the wake of his brother's death, Jova weds his late sibling's wife, Yelena, and assumes leadership of the gang who runs the trade on the garbage dump. As the specter of Yelena's late husband haunts the dump in search of revenge, his young son, Hamlet, discovers that his uncle orchestrated the murder of his father -- a revelation that sets the stage for tragedy and seals the grim fate of all involved. Shot with a cast of Roma actors -- many of whom had no prior acting or film experience -- Rajkovic's innovative take on Shakespeare's timeless play proves once again that the Bard's work can still ring true even when removed from its original time and setting.