Extraordinary film, powerfully dramatic, brilliantly photographed, splendidly played against the background of explosive South Africa.

This is a powerfully dramatic performance of Verdi's gloomy masterpiece, and those in the market for a complete "Don Carlo" may find it irresistible.

It is also a brilliant piece of stagecraft that makes use of every well-chosen word and powerfully dramatic moment to force audience members to confront their own darker sides.

On Monday night, Angel Corella and Yan Chen were powerfully dramatic throughout the ballet.

He moved from music-hall to orchestral music, breaking free from the traditional song structure during the 1970s, inventing his own musical territory, powerfully dramatic and unique.

Two ordinary steps are channeled by him repeatedly into powerfully dramatic effect.

Although somewhat confusing, this seemingly meandering perspective has a purpose, for it deflects easy emotional identification with any one character, no matter how powerfully dramatic the performances may be.

Depending on the person, the story itself might be nuanced or simplistic, powerfully dramatic or cloyingly pious.

And sure enough, the killer does go after each of them in successive scenes that are powerfully dramatic and cleverly worked out.

The 34-year-old Canadian writer and director is an original who has already created a dazzling body of work, at once cerebral, powerfully dramatic and accessible.