A Performance of Hamlet in the Village of Mrdusa Donja

In Shakespeare's Hamlet, the leading character observes "The play's the thing, wherein to catch the conscience of the king." In this Yugoslavian movie, a performance of Hamlet in a small village apparently catches the conscience of the whole town. Thinking only of the prestige it will bring, a corrupt village commissar insists on mounting a production of Hamlet -- over the objections of the village teacher, who knows the tale well. The clever teacher, however, casts the son of a man the commissar has framed for theft as Hamlet, and the commissar as the usurping king, leading to a climax of truly Shakespearean proportions.