Review of Theater of War (2008) by Mark R — 11 Feb 2010

Both a behind-the-scenes look of a major theatrical event (of the 2006 Central Park production of Bertolt Brecht's "Mother Courage and Her Children", starring Meryl Streep) and an examination of Brecht's life and work, this documentary is interesting, if never all that fascinating.

The backstage look never really rises above one of those making-of docs that pop up on DVDs, and Brecht's life is pretty much given the Wikipedia treatment. It would help to have some knowledge of the plot of "Mother Courage" (something that I was lacking), since the film never really explains what's going on plotwise during the scenes we see.

I wish we had had that, and not the interviews with a Tufts professor about Marx, which doesn't seem to have much to do with the material.