Eschewed Obfuscation

(For ease of typing, and because the captions didn't use them either, I'm omitting accent marks.)

The Count of Monte Cristo
Starring Jim Caviezel & Guy Pearce
131 minutes (2 hrs. 11 min.)
Genre: Film/Adventure/Romance

After reading the novel and seeing the French mini-series, I have to declare this adaptation a complete failure. The plot is revised into a stereotypical swashbuckling adventure and the characters are flat (most of the interesting side characters are gone anyway). The movie is basically a cross between trashy action flick and trashy chick flick. Frankly, I'm disgusted.

Just from the DVD cover and blurb, I could tell that things were unpromising. Let me refer to the changelog: Dantes takes Napoleon's letter because he's a foolish, naïve idiot. Mercedes marries Mondego for an oh-so-convenient reason that keeps her from being a realistic woman who might seek comfort in whoever is available--no, she's a noble saint pretending not to be a foolish, naïve idiot (she also has no will of her own and is played by a terrible actress). Fernand and Mercedes do not have a meaningful relationship; he's unfaithful from the start and doesn't keep it a secret. Fernand Mondego is now Dantes's best friend, yet he thinks nothing of betrayal. Caderousse, Ali, Haydee, Valentine, and Maximilian are all cut. Dantes isn't arrested at his wedding but at a simple celebratory dinner, and instead of engaging in respectable duels, he has long, drawn-out swordfights with Mondego (having found out his friend before entering the Chateau d'If). Let's not forget Luigi Vampa acting double duty as the smuggler camptain, and Jacopo being indistinguishable from Vampa in personality. And the sadistic prison warden who likes whipping prisoners on the anniversary of their imprisonment.

WTF?

All complexity is painted over with broad strokes of black and white, replaced by cliché character roles and trite dialogue. I'm not even going to go into character motivations, magically dis/reappearing foreign accents, and the usual reunion happy ending. Though it played to the popular crowd, the Bravo mini-series had its merits in faithfulness and memorable characters, with an earned ending. This movie, on the other hand, does not deserve to call itself The Count of Monte Cristo.

A list of related links is on the novel review.

Tristan and Isolde
Starring James Franco and Sophia Myles
Rated PG-13 (2 hrs 5 min)

I've been wanting to see this movie since it came out in theaters a wile back, but somehow I never got around to it. So I ended up watching with a beloved but commentary-prone friend and we giggled a lot at random things rather than luxuriating in romance (though I did tear up at a few parts). My notes are rather sparse and random too. Apologies in advance if you don't like randomness. (The horror!) Without further ado:

There's a character named Mello! Unfortunately, he showed no signs of eating chocolate. Did they even have chocolate in England at the time? I hope so.

My favorite character was Isolde's maid, who's everywhere saving Isolde from certain ruin. Except she's not in the ending scene, which made me sad. You think they could have at least stuck her on the side or something, for consistency. I guess in a way she's the character foil for Isolde because she's sensible and cautious. Hrm.


This film definitely deserves its rating, by the way (implied sex, suggestive nudity, explicit violence). I made the mistake of letting my three-year-old sister watch it with us. Oops.

Genre: Fiction/Historical/Fairytale
186 pages (hardcover)

Another quick read, but this one is touching. Just the cover will tell you that--a Chinese brush painting on the left, half of an Asian girl's face on the right with her black eye staring at you. For those who don't know, I was originally born in China and am of pure Chinese ancestry--either first- or zero-generation, depending on how you count. So this book has a special significance to me. For one, I've always loved Cinderella stories, and I looked forward to reading a unique interpretation of the traditional carp version. For another, I understood all the references to Chinese language puns and tones, which was nice--actually being one of the informed readers instead of a clueless reader! It may be a bit confusing to Westerners, but nevertheless I think everyone with any inclination for fairytales should give this story a try. It's not long, and it's lovely--yes that's the word. Lovely.

In terms of style, Napoli writes beautifully, infusing her words with Chinese culture and that elusive storytelling quality so important for short fairytale adaptations. I especially admired the poems, though the rhyming is sometimes forced (it's much easier to rhyme in Chinese than it is in English). The verse has a distinctive "nature" tone similar to translated Japanese haiku. I only wish I could read the poems in Chinese with all the lilting, lyrical tones. (Though chances are I'd need pinyin to read it properly.)