A Caribbean Dream (2016)

Going in blind has its advantages. I'd never seen a single version of A Midsummer Night's Dream before sitting down to this one, which meant I had no baggage, no beloved Kenneth Branagh production to hold it up against, no expectations to shatter. My girlfriend, on the other hand, has seen a few adaptations, and her verdict was that this is one of the better ones she's come across. That's a decent endorsement, and honestly, I'm inclined to agree with the spirit of it, even if I can't fully back it up with comparisons of my own.

What I can say is that I had a pretty good time with it. There are genuinely funny moments scattered throughout, the kind that catch you off guard and make you laugh out loud rather than just smile politely. And the central conceit, that peculiar collision of traditional Shakespearean English delivered through a Barbadian accent, works far better than it has any right to. There's something genuinely refreshing about it. The formality of the language meets the warmth and rhythm of that accent, and rather than clashing, the two seem to find a kind of harmony. It gives the whole thing a distinctive flavour you won't find in any stuffy theatre production.

And then there's the setting. Look, Barbados is paradise. There's no other word for it. The lush greens, the golden light, the sense that the magical forest of Shakespeare's story isn't a stretch of imagination but simply what this island actually looks like on a Tuesday afternoon. It's genuinely beautiful to watch, and the location does a lot of heavy lifting when the material itself starts to drag a little.

Because here's the thing: the story itself didn't grip me. I've since been told, by people who know their Shakespeare far better than I do, that A Midsummer Night's Dream is considered one of the lighter, lesser works in the canon. All that magical mischief and mistaken romantic entanglement, it's more of a lark than a drama with any real weight behind it. Which is fine, I suppose, but it does mean there's a ceiling on how invested you can get. I found myself enjoying the performances and the surroundings more than I cared about who ended up with whom by the end of it.

None of that is necessarily a criticism of this particular film, which handles the material with genuine enthusiasm and a clear love for the island and its people. It's a solid effort, as my A-Z World Movie Tour continues to remind me that there are fascinating films being made in corners of the world I'd never normally seek out. This is the Barbados entry in that project, and as a snapshot of a place and a creative community doing something inventive with inherited material, it delivers.

Two and a half stars feels right. Fun, occasionally funny, gorgeous to look at, and probably more rewarding if you bring some familiarity with the source material that I simply didn't have.

Rating: ★★½  | Year: 2016  | Watched: 2025-05-29

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Where to watch

Watch in the UK
Rent: Amazon Video
Buy: Amazon Video
Physical: Amazon UK · Zavvi

Watch in the US
Stream: IndiePix Unlimited Amazon Channel
Rent: Amazon Video · Apple TV Store
Buy: Amazon Video · Apple TV Store
Physical: Amazon US

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