Kings of War

Three kings. Three impeccably pressed suits. In director Ivo van Hove’s clever merging of the playsHenry V; Henry VI Parts I, II & III; and Richard III, three Bardian power players enter the fluorescent-lit corridors of the present. On a set divided between modern war chamber and its antiseptic back rooms, autocrats debate national security over Scotch while handheld cameras pry into their drug-fueled binges behind the scenes. Soliloquies turn into media spectacles as Van Hove offers this nuanced character study of Shakespeare’s volatile kings, each tasked with making big decisions with egos, and lives, at stake.

In Dutch with English titles.