A wonderful review; thank you. I do recall recommending it to you with caveats some weeks ago, but I can't recall now where I wrote of it; but not at such length. Your exuberance recommends it to me again, and perhaps I will watch it again sooner rather than later. One thing that struck me was that, right from the beginning, Miranda is speaking in unison with Prospero, that she alone has voice from the start, even if he is speaking with and possibly for her. But Ariel -- Ariel sings in his own voice, and Prospero always and only speaks Ariel's words after him, always behind him, never in unison with him. For the longest time I could not tell if Caliban spoke in unison with Prospero, but I finally decided he did not, though I'm still not sure! And must watch it again to test the no doubt changeful happenstances. For all other characters, Prospero alone speaks, until the final scene, as you say, when they free their voices from hiss thrall or he frees them or both. Perhaps he is only freeing himself. Well. A film to re-watch, to be sure. Did you not find it to be at times claustrophobic?

Have you seen The Pillow Book? I think that may remain my favorite of the two films, but it too I've only seen once and it seems that it too is a film likely to change greatly with each subsequent viewing.