Forrest Gump - comparative review

  The movie Forrest Gump and the novel Forrest Gump were quite different. Some stories which were not in the book was made up and elaborated in the film and some stories were even excluded as the book was made into the film. Some may question why the movie does not base itself solely on the actual content of the book. However, I believe that it is normal not to exactly imitate the book. The basic difference between the book and the film lies in their use of story and purpose. The film focuses on more dramatic effect of scenes while novels focus on somewhat more gentle emotion. Therefore, the movie may use some arousing scenes to provoke sensations of the audience. Such was well shown through the film and the novel, Forrest Gump.


  In the movie, Gump was a hero. He was crippled, but one day he overcomes it like a miracle! His love towards Jenny lasts forever... How romantic! He goes to Vietnam, becomes awarded for his bravery, becomes a ping-pong champion and later becomes rich through his shrimp business. His life was full of transcending over many situations and finally succeeding. It exactly follows the plot of hero's journey. Call to adventure-enemies-ordeals-reward-the road back-resurrection-return with magical elixir. Through such plot, Eric Roth turned Gump into a hero, a figure who audiences would love. It was definitely a wise decision. Many people loved the film, and the Gump character itself. I also liked the movie because Gump's stories and his success moved me. If the movie stuck to the novel's plot, it may not have succeeded as much. 


  In the novel, Gump is not "so" mystified. He is just an ordinary man. Actually, a bit retarded man. He enrolled in the special school and he dropped out from the university in one year. He cheated on Jenny, which made her leave, and he was not such a successful football player. He lost the final! He never could run, overcoming his disabled legs. How Gump appears in the book totally breaks the fantasy one could possess through watching the movie. For me who watched the movie before the book, I was astonished by how different the book and the film could be.


  Moreover, I didn't like how Roth changed the surrounding characters to make Gump stand out more. I can absolutely understand why he did it. OF course to focus on Gump, the main character of the movie. As a result, Jenny who was just an ordinary girl was portrayed as one with unfortunate youth, filled with abuses. Through such contrasting image of Jenny and Forrest, Roth could possibly made Gump shine like an angel. Even Mrs.Gump, Leutenant Dan, and other characters were introduced "for" Gump. Although it was a necessary device for successful movie, it seemed to be quite distracting. Watching the movie once more after completely reading the book, I frowned a bit.


  Anyhow, regardless of how the movie has done to the original novel, comparing both media, I believe that the film was more attractive. It made me concentrate more to the plot, making me excited throughout the whole two hours. 

Everything Must Go (2011)

 

  Right after the movie ended with Samantha hugging Nick, what came into my mind was that it was quite a good movie. Rebecca Hall (Samantha) was beautiful, and Will Ferrell was a great actor. Having seen several Will Ferrell's comedic movies, such as Blades of Glory or Wedding Crashers, I thought Nick, which Ferrell played in the movie was a new character. Although described as an alcoholic, his somewhat sober attitude was what appealed to me. Anyway, what I really liked about the movie was that it lingered in my mind for a long time. The message of the movie that literally everything must go, resonated in my mind. Although movie itself could be considered light and dry, the message itself was not.

  

Film Review - Shawshank Redemption

  Many films are remakes of original novels. Among those, there are many whose original books receive better reputation than films themselves. The film, Shawshank Redemption, however, was not the case. The film was faithful to the original work mostly but the message was clearer. The hope which I introduced previously in my book review was more lucidly shown through Tim Robbins and Morgan Freeman in the film. Also, I realized that the narrative of Red, instead of that of Andy, was surely more effective in conveying the message. 

  The depiction of scenery inside the prison was the part I liked the most. Although the book could offer readers chances of imagination, films provided vivid picture and heartfelt impression. Red's narrative "he never made a sound" taking place during Andy's first night in the prison describes Andy's determination well. Although Andy seemed to be calm, facing such a dire situation, he was maybe the one who yearned for freedom the most. While his fellow prisoners were being "institutionalized" in the prison, Andy consistently dreamt of the world outside the thick, gray wall of Shawshank. He might have thought a happy life in a small town Zihuatanejo, near the Pacific Ocean, every night and day. The inner brightness of Andy Dufresne was what had him win through the hardships in Shawshank.

  Once, Andy turns on an Italian song all over the prison, driving Norton and other guards crazy. I thought that the influence of Andy's hope, a small hope, to the entire prisoners is well described in this part. Hearing the music, Red narrates, "those voices soared higher and farther than anybody in a gray place dares to dream. It was like some beautiful bird flapped into our drab little cage and made those walls dissolve away, and for the briefest of moments, every last man in Shawshank felt free." Andy may have wanted to share his dream of free world outside the prison with others. 

  Andy's "mighty" hope reaches its peak towards the ending of the film. Red, finally released on parole, reads the letter Andy intended for him to read, and meets Andy at Mexico. It is true that he had been in the prison for such a long time and is surely institutionalized. What gave him the hope? Tracking Andy's hope inside the movie was a great part of my joy. Dufresne's small hope ended up not only in a huge, long tunnel but also in the brightness inside prisoners' hearts.

Rita Hayworth and the Shawshank Redemption

  I pretty much enjoyed reading Stephen King's novella, "Rita Hayworth and the Shawshank Redemption." Not just because of its interesting plot but also because of the character King set for Andy Dufresne. Maybe the best word to describe him would be "hope-giver." In the prison where nobody ever sought hope, Andy came and spread the hope. Through long years of imprisonment, the fellow prisoners also feels the very hope Andy possesses, and are significantly influenced. 


  The narrator of the story, Red, also speaks of Andy's such brightness. After Andy exchanged his tax advice to Hadley with several bottles of beers which his fellow prisoners could drink, Red says "All I know for sure is that Andy Dufresne wasn’t much like me or anyone else I ever knew. . . . It was a kind of inner light he carried around with him." The "Inner Light" Red says  directly points out the sense of hope other prisoners could feel. For the prisoners who have been long confined in the prison where freedom and personal identity were strictly deprived, what Andy show must have been a whole new thing. At the same time, I also believe that it was the most valuable present for the prisoners. Although not directly described in the book, Andy gave a slight change to mundane prison life, the biggest contribution being expansion of the library. For those who were accustomed to simple yet self-killing prison life, Andy's appearance itself could have been a stimulus. 


  As the novel reaches its end, Andy's role as a "hope-giver" is once again emphasized. For Red who had been so long imprisoned, society was a whole new world, full of fearful things. Freedom which he longed for so desperately, become and threatening. Women were no more a friendly being he could love and workplaces were no more places where he could seek contentment. To Red, depressed with his unfitness to the real society, Andy approaches as a hope. The last sentences of the novel, "I hope the Pacific is as blue as it has been in my dreams. I hope," lucidly shows Andy's role.


"I hope Andy is down there. 
I hope I can make it across the border. 
I hope to see my friend and shake his hand. 
I hope the Pacific is as blue as it has been in my dreams. 

I hope."

  This part resonated my mind. As Andy gave hope to his fellow prisoners, I hope I could be a figure who could encourage others.

1st Assignment: Hero's Journey

Group: Five

Film: The Spiriting Away of Sen and Chihiro
Why we chose it: 
This is the only movie that all of us have watched which includes the element of hero's journey

<ACT1>
1.Ordinary world: 
- an ordinary japanese town
2.Call to adventure:
- a strange tunnel on the way to the family's new home
3.Refusal of the call:
- Chihiro's family is lost in an unoccupied town. Hungry, Chihiro's mom and dad eat the food gregariously without paying for the food.
Chihiro, however, chooses to look around the town and when she comes back, she sees pigs instead of her parents.
4.Meeting the mentor:
-Haku appears to tell Sen to leave the town immedately
5.Crossing the threshold:
-Chihiro, failing to find the way out with her parents, steps into the world of Ubaba by getting a job at spa town.

<ACT2>
6.Tests, Allies, Enemies:
-Test: In the spa town, people are gradually subjugated by Ubaba as they eat the food of the town and forget their original name. 
Since Chihiro is unaware of such danger, she initially eats the food people give. 
-Allies: Haku warns Chihiro of the danger, and she therefore manages to keep her identity.
She also becomes friends with the faceless ghost (Gaonashi).
-Enemies: Ubaba & her loyal eagle
7.Approach to the innermost cave:
-One day, Sen discovers Haku soaked in blood. 
8.Ordeal:
-Chihiro discovers that Haku got hurt because he tried to steal the stamp from Ubaba's twin sister.
To ask for forgiveness and save her parents and Haku, she takes the Train of Death and arrives at Ubaba's sister's home.
9.Reward:
-On Haku and Chihiro's way back to the spa town, Chihiro suddenly remembers Haku's original name, thus liberating him from 
Ubaba. Chihiro also saves her parents.

<ACT3>
10.The road back:
-Haku accompanies Chihiro in her way back to the ordinary world.
11.Resurrection:
-Chihiro finds her parents who were waiting for her at the tunnel.
12.Return with the elixir: 
-The value of family
Points of contention (ifs/ands/buts):
Resurrection is a little unclear