7/28/2019 House of Spirits Paper

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Paper 4 Due the 19rd/ before we start to watch the film

How to film a novel

Film is [intended as] a public experience; reading a novel is a private

one. Each experience will engender a different set of expectations andreactions.

There are a number of decisions to be made:1. what to keep; what to exclude; what to condense and/or

combine2. from whose point of view will the film be shot3. what will the focal point[s] be4. what will the setting [geographic and historical] be5. fidelity to the originalhow much, will the film be updated or

include anachronisms

Film borrows from literature:structure [introduction, development, conclusion]characterization [who are the characters and how do we get to

know and care about them?]theme [whats the point? why are we reading/watching?]point of view [whose? how many are there? how reliable are

they?]metaphors and symbols [subtle or obvious? original or trite?

universal or culturally specific?]

How do you think this novel will be filmed? What would be the hardestpart to capture? Around whom should the action focus? What wouldyou definitely include? How would you deal with the various aspects ofMagic Realism? Who/what would you eliminate or condense? Howsuccessfully do you predict a Danish director will capture LatinAmerican reality, or will this be irrelevant?