Surrounding the young leads is a murderer’s row of British acting royalty:
As performances são o destaque. Os protagonistas apresentam química palpável: a interpretação de Romeu transmite impetuosidade juvenil sem cair em estereótipos, enquanto Julieta equilibra inocência e determinação. O elenco coadjuvante sustenta bem o drama, oferecendo versões humanas das figuras arquetípicas (pai autoritário, amigo leal, antagonistas familiares), contribuindo para a verossimilhança do enredo.
In 2013, acclaimed Brazilian director Bruno Barreto (Dona Flor and Her Two Husbands) took on the audacious task of transplanting William Shakespeare’s most famous tragedy into the vibrant, sun-drenched, and rhythmically charged setting of contemporary Rio de Janeiro. The result is Romeu e Julieta—a film that swaps Veronese swords for carnal samba, noble houses for street-corner gangs, and poison for a bullet, all while asking: can love survive when it’s born on the wrong side of the hill?
From Verona to Vila Mimosa
This adaptation doesn’t just change the language (from English to Portuguese); it changes the entire social architecture. The Capulets and Montagues are reimagined as two rival families fighting for control of Rio’s morros (hillside favelas). But with a clever, sunnier twist, Barreto replaces the cycle of blood-feuding with a war over samba—specifically, the annual Carnaval competition. romeu e julieta 2013
Their first meeting isn’t a masquerade ball—it’s a spontaneous, forbidden musical duel during a street rehearsal. The “kiss” happens not in a cloistered garden but on a moonlit rooftop overlooking the Guanabara Bay, drowned out by the distant beat of competing drum sections.
A Tragedy That Wants to Be a Comedy
Where most Shakespeare adaptations lean into the gloom, Romeu e Julieta 2013 leans into the festa. Barreto infuses the film with an almost buoyant energy. The cinematography captures Rio’s paradoxical beauty—the lush green mountainsides pressed against sprawling, vibrant shantytowns. The soundtrack is a mashup of classic samba, pagode, and original bossa nova-inflected love themes.
This tonal shift is the film’s biggest risk and its most debated feature. The feuding is less about murder and more about sabotage (cutting microphone wires, stealing costumes). The famous duel between Tybalt and Mercutio becomes a chaotic, nearly slapstick fight broken up by riot police. For purists, this undercuts the tragedy. For general audiences, it makes the star-crossed lovers more relatable—two kids caught in a family squabble that feels ridiculous from the outside but deadly serious from within. Surrounding the young leads is a murderer’s row
The Critical Verdict: For Love or For Samba?
Released in Brazilian cinemas in late 2013 to mixed reviews, the film polarized critics.
Conclusion: A Sweet, Bittersweet Caipirinha
Romeu e Julieta (2013) is not a definitive Shakespeare adaptation. It is, however, a defiantly Brazilian one. It swaps Elizabethan poetry for the poetry of the tamborim drum, and dramatic irony for a knowing, warm-hearted irony about youth in a divided city. Their first meeting isn’t a masquerade ball—it’s a
For Shakespeare scholars, the film may frustrate. But for anyone who believes that a well-played samba can hold as much passion as a well-spoken sonnet, Barreto’s Romeu e Julieta is a charming, colorful, and ultimately heartbreaking footnote in the long history of retelling the world’s most famous love story. Just bring tissues—and your dancing shoes.
Rating: ★★★☆☆ (3/5 – Lovely to watch, light on tragedy, heavy on heart.)
The 2013 film adaptation of Romeo & Juliet, directed by Carlo Carlei and written by Julian Fellowes (Downton Abbey), was designed as a "traditional" version for a new generation. Shot in authentic Italian locations like Verona and Mantua, it features a lush, Renaissance-style aesthetic that contrasts with the modern reinterpretations often seen in recent decades. 1. Key Production Details Review: Romeo and Juliet, 2013 - The Shakespearean Student