15/02/2025 - BERLINALE 2025: Burhan Qurbani’s latest effort is an overambitious and chaotic retelling of William Shakespeare’s Richard III

Premiering in the Berlinale Special strand of this year’s Berlin International Film Festival, Burhan Qurbani’s latest endeavour, No Beast. So Fierce. [+see also:
interview: Burhan Qurbani
film profile], attempts to transpose William Shakespeare’s classic tragedy Richard III to an alternative version of contemporary Berlin, where two Arab families, the Yorks and the Lancasters, wage a long-standing gang war. At the centre of the conflict is Rashida (Kenda Hmeidan), a young lawyer from the House of York who violently eliminates the Lancaster leadership in a bid to establish peace.

However, as a woman in a male-dominated world, she finds herself sidelined, unable to claim true power. Determined to rule, Rashida embarks on a ruthless journey of manipulation, seduction and murder, only to be haunted by childhood trauma and the scars of war.

While the premise is intriguing on paper, the film struggles to find coherence in its artistic vision. Qurbani mixes an ultra-modern, seemingly realistic setting with an eerie, metaphysical atmosphere, but this contrast remains ineffective. The film oscillates between Baz Luhrmann-style aesthetics and more restrained, theatrical Kammerspiel sequences. Although such a hybrid approach is not inherently flawed, here it feels disjointed and clumsily executed.

Another notable misstep is the film’s inconsistent use of language. Despite the characters’ Arabic heritage, German dominates the dialogue, with Arabic inserted sporadically in a way that feels counterintuitive. This linguistic choice, coupled with a rather heavy-handed manipulation of Shakespeare’s text – such as a frankly unnecessary Romeo & Juliet excerpt and the jarring line “My kingdom for a Jaguar” during a tragic moment – undermines the adaptation’s credibility.

The film hints at a broader theme of oppression and power dynamics, but never fully explores these ideas, and does little to play with past, present or “imagined” history. The backstory of the York and Lancaster families as Berlin’s decades-long criminal dynasties is hastily introduced through a random radio broadcast, rather than being woven naturally into the narrative. Additionally, while characters retain their Shakespearean “surnames”, their first names (the aforementioned Rashida, Ghazi, Imad, Qamar and Mishal, among others) are distinctly Arabic, creating a setting that is at once specific and strangely nebulous.

The performances, particularly Hmeidan’s, offer little evolution or depth, leaving the protagonist’s journey emotionally unconvincing. The challenge of reciting centuries-old lines is plain to see on screen, and while the actors’ efforts are also visible, they lack the direction, strength and discipline for their performances to flourish and get us to fully embrace the great suspension of disbelief we’re asked to deal with. While the whole cast does exhibit potential, their talent is largely underutilised because of Qurbani’s heavy reliance on a grand, slow-motion aesthetic. Simply put, he fails to engage us owing to the lack of a solid mise-en-scène and vision.

From a technical standpoint, No Beast. So Fierce. is visually striking. Yoshi Heimrath’s cinematography showcases a masterful use of lighting and framing, and Jagna Dobesz’s production design – especially in its surreal, dreamlike sequences – is undeniably sophisticated. However, these impressive elements feel like a waste of resources when they fail to serve the narrative. Ultimately, the film appears as an overambitious and fragmented project, displaying flashes of courage and experimentation, but ultimately feeling constrained by production demands and clunky writing.

Qurbani’s adaptation never quite decides what it wants to be – a pop tragedy, an epic, a crime-horror hybrid? While blending genres can be a powerful tool, the final execution leaves it feeling like a collection of promising ingredients that never come together into a satisfying whole. Initially fascinating, its world-building grows increasingly frustrating and alienating, making No Beast. So Fierce. a missed opportunity, rather than a triumphant reimagining.

No Beast. So Fierce. was produced by Sommerhaus Filmproduktion (Germany) in co-production with Poland’s Madants and France’s Getaway Films. Paris-based sales agent Goodfellas is handling the film’s international rights.