A few weeks ago, my husband and I went on a binge and watched all three of the Millenium films in Sweedish. I haven’t read the books in 3-4 years but Lizbeth Salander and Mikel Bloomkvist are memorable and I found myself remembering some things that were going to happen before they showed up on screen. It got me thinking, would I have enjoyed these if I’d watched them right after reading the books? Did the time help me enjoy them more?
There are certain books I’ve read and know there are movie adaptations I haven’t seen for one reason or another. It’s a film that’s hard to find, I don’t like the casting, it got bad reviews, etc. However, given a dull night in winter or a raining afternoon, I’m inclined to watch anything. Sometimes I’m happily surprised, as was the case with the Millemium films. (About 20% of the amusement was listening for English cognates, though.) Other times, it’s a bad movie and I should have listened the first time around. I find with time between the book and movie, I’m not as apt to compare the two. I can enjoy the movie the same way I’d enjoy one not based on a book.
I have a promise to myself that I won’t see a book-turned-film until I read the book first. This results in a lot of same-day or same-week finish/viewings. Silver Linings Playbook is the most memorable of these for me because I couldn’t even pretend to enjoy the film because it was so different. At times, I still enjoy the movie but it’s usually a book I felt strongly about and I know no one can touch the book I fell in love with. But how do you deny that pull to see what you just imagined unfold on screen? I don’t feel like it’s possible.
How do you feel, Readers? Do you see movie adaptations right away? Do you enjoy ones where you get some space? Please leave a comment and let me know.
Until next time, write on.
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Taking On a World of Words 