Sunday, August 28, 2011

Ink and Film

Ink and Film is a new section I hope to get going here. In this section, I will explore books and the films that they inspire. Historical Fiction books are great movie makers.

For my first Ink and Film, I want to look at Silk, a novel by Alessandro Baricco.

In 2007, it was made into a movie starring Michael Pitt and Kiera Knightly as the lead characters.
 Both tell the story of Herve Joncour, a Frenchman who travels to Japan to buy silkworm eggs. He leaves behind his wife Helene. On this journey, Herve encounters a woman in the Japanese village who enchants him. But she belongs to his host and trading partner. Though they do not speak, she passes him a note before his departure. Back in France, this note engulfs his life, rendering him almost insane with lust.
This is an ironic story of lust and life based on a note versus love based upon a life.
I read the book in one day. It's a short book of 144 pages. The book is very well written and captures an ironic life of love and lust. The settings are vivid and calm.
The movie was good, and tried to capture the calmness of these settings. I however, wasn't convinced on the acting. Helene, played by Kiera Knightly was decent. However, Michael Pitt's Herve, failed to capture the intense lust that was such a prevalent part in the book.
I recommend reading this book, but skipping the movie.


No comments:

Post a Comment