Three French movies

In an earlier post I recounted how having been inspired by three French movie trailers to end up reading 3 enjoyable books.  Well the movies were still on the agenda.  Movies have a reputation of cutting out explanations and adding in entertaining, but distorting details.  Do they maintain the spirit of the book or make their own meaning?  You can read my experiences with the books here:   http://www.therealjohndavidson.com/2012/05/3-french-novels-inspired-by-3-french.html

My favorite example of the difference is with the Turkish book and novel,  "Bliss."  The author Zulfu Livaneli wrote the book and surprisingly wrote the music for the movie.  The book was as usual in more depth, but actually gave away the movie ending almost at the beginning.  Further in the book the author predicted if a movie was done it would have more of a Hollywood ending which it did and probably why he preferred to write the very enjoyable music.  They both dealt with honour killing and made the horror of it very evident.  Read more here:  http://www.therealjohndavidson.com/2011/05/turkish-delight-in-book-and-movie-form.html

"Sarah's Key" made me conscious that a book gets into the thinking of the characters more than a film.  I think the general theme of the book did get through with the performances and technical aspects being good.  From the movie trailer the shock was that the French were complicit in the Holocast.  In both the book and the movie that connection is slowly built up.  As in the books the modern day journalist efforts are paralleled with an experience in Nazi held Paris.  The journalist realizes that her husband's family was intimately involved and buried the emotions connected to it.  The mystery is carried into modern times while the obsessive journalist tries to track down Sarah.  Her own family problems become entangled.

Kristin Scott Thomas, most famous for "The English Patient" is an actress I have watched in a variety of French movies.  As she is bilingual it is natural for her to play the American journalist married into a French family.  The actors all make you feel this really happened and the director holds everything together.

"The Hedgehog" was another book that dealt with inner emotions.  3 main characters who all see themselves as "different."  The director and screenwriter,  Mona Achache at age 27 was directing her first movie.  Of the three selected movies only this one did not rely on any big stars.  Mona and the three main actors captured the mood of the book very well.  It is definitely a quirky book from beginning to end, but with characters that grow on you.  A young pre-adolescent girl, Garance Le Guillermie really captured the essence of the literary character who was very intelligent, but took a morbid view of life and gradually saw life more positively.  Josiano Balasko played an old ugly concierge in a luxury apartment building, but had inner beauty that the other two characters came to appreciate.  Josiano played her role perfectly and the viewer came to appreciate there is more to her than meets the eye.  Togo Isaygo played a sophisticated Japanese tenant who befriended both other characters and he fit the role from the book very well

Sometimes when you watch a movie you learn little cultural things that stick, even if trivial.  At one point a musical toilet startles you and later learn that it is a "Japanese thing".

The ending of the movie if anything reflected the book's ending in an even more effective manner.  It will disappoint those hoping for a Hollywood ending, but actually it makes a point about life.  The music running over the end credits is contemplative.  Throughout the movie, the music by Gabriel Yared was good to set the mood and my favorite parts were melancholic with cello and piano.

"delicacy" is the last movie from the three books.  It is unusual in that the author, David Foenkinos teamed with his brother Stéphane Foenkinos to write the screenplay and direct the movie.  Audrey Tatou as the leading lady is always delightful.  I had seen her co-star, Francois Damiens playing a bumbling brother in law in "The Heartbreaker".  In the book were accounts of a lot of trivialities that are part of life and relationships.  The brothers brought in Émilie Simon to write and sing the music which added some emotional support.  The movie captured some of the quirkiness of the book. It is common to put uncommon people together and "Delicacy" gives another version.  A young attractive widow from an ideal marriage meets someone not noticed by other people and and somehow responds to his awkwardness. In the real world we are often amazed and wondering what does she see in him or what does he see in her?  One of life's great wonders.  An enjoyable romance with good humour.

Movies are often inspired by books.  Books are always deeper and movies are selective in capturing the mood.  A good director takes the essence of what the book is trying to convey in a relatively short time.  The director has the advantage of a crew of people including actors, cinematographers, costume, make-up, special effects, music, etc. etc.  The writer has the advantage of our imagination.

Like many people if I like a movie enough I am anxious to read the book to get the fuller story. Sometimes it can work the other way.  I am glad that I read these three books first as reading gives an idea of the depth.  The movies in some ways did capture the essence of the original author and inevitably were forced to leave out some explanation that the reader could appreciate.

For some reason the French are coming up with some top movies, "The Intouchables" was one of my top three for 2012 and one that seems really attractive is "Rust and Bones"

3 French Novels inspired by 3 French movie trailers

Dealing with French through high school and some university was difficult for me, but because my instructors took some pity on me I scraped through. Now I look at French culture more favorably. Ironically the three French novels (in English naturally) I have read this year by mid April were all inspired by movie trailers.

I follow the IMDB website a lot and learn about film festivals and check out new or highly regarded movies. Early this year I saw a trailer for "Sarah's Key" and found it interesting, partly because I had seen Kristen Scott Thomas in a number of French movies and quite enjoyed them (ranging from comedies to dramas). My sister in law, Cindy Olynyk decided it was a good idea to offer some books (especially books she enjoyed) to friends and relatives and suggested when we were finished to loan them to someone else who was interested. A great idea allowing more people to read good books. "Sarah's Key" was one of the books and the one Cindy talked about the most.

My wife grabbed it first and took it with her on the beach in Cuba. There it had an unexpected response. One fellow walking by noticed the book and loudly proclaimed it was one of his very favorites and that it had made him cry. This fellow created quite a stir as he was wearing a brightly coloured thong bathing suit and was quite loud. We ended up talking to him for about half an hour and learned a few things of our overlapping interests. Towards the end of our vacation my Kobo's battery ran out and I switched my attention to "Sarah"s Key." Like Cindy and my wife Sharon, I found it hard to put down.

In the airport to go back home I picked it up to read and got the attention of a woman nearby who also expressed her great love of the book. This started another interesting conversation. She and her husband, both in their 80's were from Thunder Bay, a place I have never visited. They were good models of what I would like to be like when I reach that age. They were both politically active (not the same voting tendency as myself, but very open) and I suspect physically as well. They had come to Cuba on a very enticing deal they learned about just a few days before the flight. They re-arranged their busy schedules to take advantage of the opportunity. I had stayed at a beach resort, but they chose a resort in town so they could feel the local culture more closely.

About the book itself, written by Tatiana de Rosnay  it is a page turner.  It explores a part of World War II that is not publicized very much--the roundup of Jews in France by French police. The actual events run parallel to a modern discovery of the events. The conversations around the history depicted in the book all acknowledged that it would be easy to condemn the French, but also admitted that most of us might not be any better. The story also is an example of the endurability of the human spirit and our capacity to empathize with others.

A little earlier in the year another movie trailer caught my attention called "The Hedgehog". Trailers can be very deceptive and they are are designed to develop your interest. I read some of the reviews and that encouraged me even further. This time I checked the library and alas the movie was not in, but the book, "The Elegance of the Hedgehog" was. I checked it out.


Written by Muriel Barbery it was an interesting mix of younger and older characters, French and a little Japanese culture. A young girl bent on suicide is befriended by a self described ugly concierge mutually recognizing their superior intelligence and sensitivity.  A Japanese film maker becomes a part of the intimate group.  I didn't feel I had been too misled by the trailer, but the book's ending did catch me off guard.

A third time another movie trailer got my attention. I have to confess that any movie that has Audrey Tautou in it, is automatically something I have to watch. Audrey wasn't playing a particularly glamorous role, but the hint of the plot looked interesting. I checked the library again and saw an entry for "delicacy" that had Audrey's photo in it and reserved it. I was very excited, but when I picked it off the shelf I saw that it was a book. I was tempted to turn it back as I already had too many books out.

I am glad I didn't. "delicacy" made me laugh and I found it very satisfying not only its plot, but its unique style. It is a romance between a fairly young widow and someone thought of as a klutz.  Of course there are all sorts of obstacles for this unlikely couple.  They misunderstand each other often,  but it turns out to be a satisfying relationship.  I understand the author David Foenkinos teamed up with his brother for the movie version.

All three French authors were great to read. They seemed to have a feel for the psychology underlying the actions of the characters. I should credit the translators for making them easy to read, but I think the tone was set by the authors.   Like most Canadians I tend to read books written by English speaking authors, but as I have found in the film world, foreign perspectives can be very intriguing.

Still waiting to see the movies and I am sure there will be differences.  It is difficult to get into the internal thinking that is exemplified in these three books so I will be interested to see how the directors, screen writers and actors tackle the project

I did eventually see the movies and you can read about my reactons at:  http://www.therealjohndavidson.com/2013/02/three-french-movies.html