It happened again.
Today I have only one class, my Major Writers of the 20th Century with Professor David Hoddeson. (One of the most interesting and entertaining professors at Rutgers-Newark.)
We have been reading Graham Greene’s “The Quiet American” for class. When I walked into class I was surprised to find that we were going to watch the 2002 film based on the novel (there was also a 1958 film.)
The movie was interesting; I found Brandon Fraser and Michael Caine were kind of miscast for the movie. The characters did not look or act like anything I expected from reading the book. As with most movies based on novels, I felt like the film drained all the depth out of the novel. It was just a superficial glossed over version.
There are simply some books that don’t translate well, The Unbearable Lightness of Being and Love in the Time of Cholera are examples of similar disasters.
The movies aren’t bad really, and The Quiet American I saw in class today wasn’t bad at all. They are just nowhere near as good as the novel and seem very soulless and lifeless when compared to the books.
I think the problem with films like this is that the books they are based on, which in many ways are unconventionally written (though “The Quiet American” is very conventional in comparison to the other two books I mentioned), simply cannot be done justice by traditional film making.
I think innovative and unconventional methods are needed to get closer to the spirit of what the author is trying to communicate. I think one of the best examples would be Fellini’s adaptation of Satyricon and though not based on any novel, Todd Hayne’s recent Bob Dylan biopic I’m Not There is a perfect exemplar of a film that communicates a message using innovative methods.
In any case, this occasion marks the third time I have really fucked up the Unplugged project. All three times have been related to schoolwork, so they don’t really count; but I will be sure to add them in my final paper which I will be writing tonight.
