From Page to Film: The Children of Men

I am a purist when it comes to book to film translations. I like to read a good book and then see it translated onto the screen in a way that matches my vision or at least comes close to the original text. One of my biggest pet peeves is when the film misses out the entire point of the novel or glosses over things I deemed important in my reading. Many people say they try to keep films and book separate and to some extent I do too. However, I do feel that when a film is adapted from a book a certain amount of looking at the source must occur because that is where the material came from. It is not necessarily about 'faithfulness' to the book, it is more about capturing the essence correctly.
That is why reading The Children of Men by P.D. James and watching the 2006 film by Alfonso Cuarón are two completely different experiences.

I loved James' novel and its look at what the world would be like without children and subsequently hope for future generations. The story began slow, but it is so important because it worked to establish the characters and the bleak reality of the world they inhabit. The characters are complex, particularly that of Theo and his cousin Xan who is completely trivialized in the film version. One of my favorite parts of the novel was the ending. It was dark and yet hopeful, ambiguous and yet clear. I love endings like that; ones that tease you and make you think long after you put the novel down. I was really excited upon finishing the novel to see it all played out on the screen.
The film however seemed to only take the main characters names and the premise because everything else was completely different. In the book, Julian is the one who is pregnant and she is definitely not Theo's ex-wife. I was so mad at the seemingly unnecessary changes. I felt that Cuarón went out of his way to make an unnecessary political statement. The film makes such a point to hit the viewer over the head with ideas about immigration and globalization. The book was much more subtle on those themes, but more effective because it made the reader think. 
Another thing that annoyed me was the casting. Clive Owen was not at all how I pictured Theo since in the novel he is described as an aging Oxford historian. In the book he spends most of his time reminiscing about the past and punishing himself for what he has done. He is a deeply flawed, complex character. Owen is too likeable, too willing to jump in and help, not at all like Theo in the novel. There are so many character changes I can't even discuss them all, but I will say that making Kee the pregnant one seemed to be more for shock value and political purpose than anything else. Also, I felt that her character was not easy to sympathize with and annoying at times. None of the characters in the film were particularly likeable and they died before the viewer had a chance to really feel any sort of connection with them.I just felt that a lot of character and plot development were sacrificed in the name of action.
And the action was good. The final action sequence at the end of the film was amazingly shot. The use of handheld camera movement, the splattering of blood on the lens, and the explosions going off all around put the viewer straight into the world of the film. The scene with Theo and Kee leaving the building with the crying baby and the soldiers and rebels standing reverently around them was also well shot. The slow pacing and the music broke up the long fight scene quite nicely and added an emotional depth that the film so badly needed.
Overall, I liked the book The Children of Men much better than the film (but then again the book is always better). I think if I had not read the book I would have thought differently about the film. The film tried to "action-ize" the beautiful, slow-moving prose of James which lead to the loss of some of the novel's major themes.  
Book review: Needs Milk
Movie review: Soggy

I Think You Should Know Thursday

Today's artist I think you should know is M. Ward who I first discovered as part of the duo She & Him; the "She" being the lovely and talented Zooey Dechanel. He's a singer-songwriter with a melodious voice. He is one of those singers that doesn't need many bells and whistles, he sounds great just with a guitar. 

 

"'Death is just a door'"

Blake said it first
It's just another room we enter
It's the threshold that hurts"

.......

"I say, 'death is just a door
You'll be Reunited on the other side'

It's alright
'Death is just a door
You'll be reunited bye and bye'" 

She & Him is much more pop-ey and joyful. Its the kind of music that you should listen to driving around California with the sunroof down while wearing an awesome pair of shades.

 "Old habits die hard
When you got, when you got a sentimental heart
Piece of the puzzle and you're my missing part
Oh, what can you do with a sentimental heart?"

A Day of Revelations

So today was eye opening for a number of reasons. First off, I went to the Career Development Center (CDC) at my university which is always a fun experience. Just picture a giant white room with chairs and small tables and lots of stressed out kids sitting around with their resumes and you get the idea. This is a room I need to spend more time in. It is finally starting to hit me that my college career is more than half way over and it is time to start making life decisions. How to go about that I have no idea.

My new best friend: this book. Courtesy of the CDC.

Here are the things I do know:
1. I love am passionate about movies.
2. I want a career in the film industry. But...
3. I don't want to direct. I want to be involved in pre/post production. I want to cast films. I want to approve scripts. I want to scout locations. Hell, I want to fetch coffee.
To do all these things and more I need to start taking steps towards my dreams. My time at the CDC was interesting because it forced me for the first time to think about how I was really going to achieve my goal. I kind of have this idealistic vision that I will apply and get into all the internship programs that I want. It is going to be a lot harder than that; there are students in universities across the nation, better universities, who are more qualified/passionate/involved/just plain better than I am. Its a fact.
The question is: what can I do about it? My video and film production class is a good step. Which is also good seeing as today was the day of reckoning, the day I finally got to watch the footage I shot a few weeks ago. Surprisingly the film was not a blank role that I assumed it would be, but a role full of well shot, well focused, high contrast images. I'm not sure why I doubted myself so much, but seeing those images in black and white made me gain more confidence in my abilities to actually film things. Which is good because this is what I want to do. I want to be creative and film things and make movies, but that is going to be hard if I'm afraid to even pick up a camera. I'm actually really excited to shoot my next film this weekend. We have to focus on the motion of the film rather than the narrative, but I think I have a few ideas.
But this class and my new found confidence are only the beginning. I have some goals:
1. Update my resume & learn how to write a cover letter
2. Get involved with something film related on campus (whether it be a club or an on-campus internship)
3. Apply to as many internships as humanly possible
4. Read up more about the entertainment industry
5. Learn HTML 
6. Get an awesome internship
7. Be happy (most important)
 I just have a lot to think about. It is time to stop wasting time, to take charge of my future. That's a scary thought. And exciting all at the same time. To all those reading, you are watching my life take shape before your eyes. This is real and this is me and this is growing up and all that it entails. Stay tuned. No matter what happens, I can tell you this is going to be interesting. Nothing's ever dull in my life.