Although a fan of the writings of Haruki Murakami, I was never really gelled with NORWEGIAN WOOD, arguably as his most popular novel. Give me the surrealistic eccentricities of WONDERLAND and THE END OF THE WORLD hard or wild sheep CHASE has any day of frustrating teenager melancholy that permeates through this nostalgic reminiscence of Tokyo from the 1960s. So, I have read that book again, and it was a few years ago now, after observing new film adaptation of Tran Anh Hung, my first reaction was that it was a mostly accurate adaptation. I was instantly overwhelmed by the depressing tone of the film, which I did not recall be present in the novel, but throughout each point of intrigue rank a vague bell, as it took place on the screen. That said, I have subsequently took the opportunity to revisit the novel and making exposed a number of subtle but remarkable, differences between the two tellings of history.Firstly, the film version of NORWEGIAN WOOD takes place entirely during the 1960s and made no reference to the return of nostalgic flame of an elderly man who oversees Murakami novel. This decision does not affect the result of significant events, but is completely redundant film title. In the book, Watanabe Toru protagonist hears the song of the Beatles classic "norwegian wood" which instantly recalls 37 - years from his university days and especially its bizarre relationship with deeply disturbed Naoko. The song was favorite Naoko and hear again several years later he catches Toru off-guard, lift him back in time in the 1920s and forcing them to relive many painful memories that had probably been removed, and for good reason. Although the song appears twice in the film, once sung by Reiko character, then the original version of studio on the end, generic he loses all meaning when not positioned as an emotional trigger.Instead of this, NORWEGIAN WOOD is presented as a novel for teens straight-up, albeit with a parameter of the period. Student protests which present so prominently in Murakami novel are little more than a genuine dressing all in film of Tran and all characters, but ignore the explosive situation around them. While some may say that this is intentional and highlights how intoxicating and encompassing, relationships have become, it's a fairly weak theory. Verily Tran seems any longer interested in the love story that policy and keeps the definition purely to help the mechanics of history, but also allow actor Matsuyama Kenichi a wide range of eye-catching shirts sport for years 60.Pour those who know the plot of NORWEGIAN WOOD, it focuses on three students from high school, Toru (Matsuyama), his best friend Kizuki (Kengo Kora) and girlfriend Kizuki Naoko (Rinko Kikuchi). A unit tight throughout school, their happy triumvirate is shattered when Kizuki kills inexplicably 17th day of his birthday. Toru and Naoko remain friends and later the two attend the same University of Tokyo. Naoko struggles to deal with her pain, becoming increasingly unstable, while pushing more close to Toru. They finally sleep together but Naoko immediately drops College and checks in a sanatorium. Toru remains in touch as best they can, even venturing out campaign visit Naoko occasionally, but returned to Tokyo, he begins to fall for his classmate bubbly, outgoing - and apparently much more normal - Midori (Mizuhara, Kiko). Toru also maintains correspondence with Reiko, an older patient who becomes best friend of the Naoko hospital. It keeps Toru updated with its progress (or lack thereof), but their relationship is complicated and limits are eventually overcome.While step entirely in keeping with the tone of the novel, the film of NORWEGIAN WOOD works best when the emotional depth of loss and despair plowing. Rinko Kikuchi is particularly effective as the increasingly chaotic and brittle, Naoko became a ticking time bomb of self-destruction that must be kept in suicide watch at any time. Its frequent reckless wanderings through the winter forest surrounding the hospital provide the ideal setting for some really beautiful framing that captures the isolation and devastating powerlessness which constantly threatens to send Naoko over the edge Tran. A particularly memorable scene follows Naoko and Toru they March back and forth through a windswept of tall grass with a single shot of follow-up of 3 minutes to capture their argument. Toru is literally against the elements in its attempts to control and pacify Naoko, while it is always also voluntary, erratic and indomitable as breeze. This is accentuated mainly by the soundtrack of the film, particularly Johnny Greenwood emphatic score - both Ethereal and adversarial in its execution.NORWEGIAN WOOD is not a bad film by any stretch and only technically it proves quite the audiovisual treat, but for me, Jun Ichikawa TONY TAKITANI remains a superior example of capture "Murakami sense" on the screen. For all aesthetic achievements, the Tran film is also a grueling test of emotional let his audience desperate for a passport to swift and painless in the beyond of the great. Performance are perfect score of what the script asks them, but the adaptation itself has no lightness of Murakami of will touch and beat-poet who differentiate him as a worthy of world recognition author. That said, I also found the novel to be tinged with a sadness and somewhat trivial realism in contradiction with the eccentric and fantastic elements that make the rest of his work so attractive and persuasive, but with more than 12 million copies sold to date, I may well hold the minority opinion.
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