Film Critic
Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close
Just like most well received novels Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close has its own film adaptation by Stephen Daldry. It is just as impressive as the book itself, keeping the main storyline which is the best a film adaptation should do but in the other hand it has some changes that are very hard to go unnoticed.
The cast is probably the main reason for the great result of the film. For the main roles Daldry went for award-winning actors such as Sandra Bullock, Tom Hanks and Max von Sydow who couldn’t have done a greater job at playing their characters. Sandra as Linda Schell played very well the distance Oskar feels she has to him, as well as the difficulty we can see in the book that she’s going through. Also Tom Hanks, who perfectly fit the image of an intelligent man who chose his family and family business over a more appropriate education for his level. However the big star is of course Thomas Horn who played the part of Oskar Schell. The talented young actor’s performance simply unbelievable, it is hard to believe how easily he played such a dramatic story.
The screenwriters did a good choice maintaining the storyline: Oskar finds the key in his father’s closet in an envelope which has “Black” written on it, inside a blue vase and desperately starts an expedition in NYC to find the lock that fits the key. So far so good, however the three-narrators perspective we have in the book that’s gives the story an exciting dynamic, is completely ignored and we have Oskar as the only narrator of the story. The movie is told from Oskar’s point of view but it still is very poor in what refers to his longs internal monologues that are seen in the book. Another point that has been igno...
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... on his emotional response, combined with the same melancholic music every time. However, the melancholy of the song would always change into violent, loud, confusing notes whenever Oskar was outside on the streets facing his fears. Here the use of various points of views from Oskar’s perspective was explored. Extreme close ups on objects like screws were often used to demonstrate Oskar’s panic.
Although all the changes which are necessary but still bothers the readers of the original work, the film contained the same melancholy and excitement in the story. We learn in both works that the number of people who leave is high, but the one who stay is even higher and everyone has their own story and sadness to share. The filmic adaptation intensifies the literary work, and both of them can be studied and compared side by side and still have their own particular charm.
Louder than a Bomb is a documentary by Jon Siskel and Greg Jacobs. We are invited into the lives of four different Chicago teenagers as they prepare for the city wide poetry slam. These four students come from various backgrounds and schools.
...d coloring of certain images. The novel, however, puts much greater emphasis on the imagination and creativity, and on the main character Tita. The novel really makes the reader feel Titas pain and grow with her as she discovers her freedom, whereas the movie failed to achieve this. Moreover, the movie tends to ignore the significant of 3 integral motifs, cooking, tears and sensuality.
Many films are criticized to be way different from the book and therefore not as good. The movie Of Mice and Men, however, is very well done and very similar to the book. In this movie were elements that created mood and atmosphere, elements that made the movie good, and elements/ things that could have been improved in order to reflect the novel better.
... conclusion, Foer’s novel, Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close doesn’t sugarcoat tragedy. It faces it head on and without a sensor, thus allowing it to maintain historical truth. The use of the scrapbook allows the reader to see into the mind of the narrators and reveals personality traits that would have otherwise gone unnoticed. By writing from the point of view of three different narrators, Foer has allowed the reader to see into the minds of people in three different stages of grief. He also focusing primarily on life after trauma, specifically differentiating between acceptance and attachment, and provides the reader with solid advice on how to deal with the tragic aftermath of trauma. Most importantly, the story of the Schell family shows the reader that they are not alone, and that traumatic experience do not have to define who she becomes as a person.
	Books, more often than not, are better than the movies that are made from them. This is due to the immense power of our imaginations. Readers use their imaginations to fill the space that exists between him/herself and the book with such things as dreams, past experiences, and hopes. For this reason, there is much more depth and symbolic depictions in the novella, The Awakening, by Kate Chopin, compared with the movie version, Grand Isle. Due to this, the effect on the reader is much more potent than the effect on the viewer.
Being in kindergarten I was too young to understand a moment so tragic. My grandma told me that I had just come home from a half day of school, and she had turned the television on to try and sort through the bits and pieces of information that she had heard. Nobody really knew what was happening in the moment, but it was a sad day in American history. The day 9/11 occurred. Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close written by Jonathan Safran Foer, tells a story of a socially unstable boy who lost his dad, who was working in the twin towers when the planes crashed. The movie written by Eric Roth and directed by Stephen Daldry did a good job of capturing the emotions the book described. Although both the book and movie Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close are similar, I prefer the book.
The movie is, most likely, done well enough to intrigue its intended audience. It captured the theme and story line of the book. It falls short, though, when compared to the beautiful, sensitive and contemplative prose of Natalie Babbitt. One could only hope that a viewing of the film will lead the watcher to try the book and be delighted all the more.
In conclusion, details involving the characters and symbolic meanings to objects are the factors that make the novel better than the movie. Leaving out aspects of the novel limits the viewer’s appreciation for the story. One may favor the film over the novel or vice versa, but that person will not overlook the intense work that went into the making of both. The film and novel have their similarities and differences, but both effectively communicate their meaning to the public.
In closing I feel that the book did a much better job than the film of illustrating the life of Wolff. The book made Toby’s relationship with his mother and the men that were in their life much more dramatic.
In order to understand what changes happen to twist the views of the 2 main characters in both novels, it is important to see the outlook of the two at the beginning of the novels in comparison ...
As Oskar Schindler, Liam Neeson does an outstanding job of portraying a savy buisness man and a caring human being. Ben Kingsley plays his part with heart and cleverness. Ralph Fiennes is so completely believable as Amon Goeth. I would have never wanted to cross the path of that man. The people who played the jews were so convincing in their parts. This film truly has the feel of a documentary.
...at day had a key that could open the world to them and give them answers. There were no answers. So instead, Foer opted for equally touching but altogether more haunting moment: Oskar relinquishes control and opens himself to acceptance.
The book and the movie were both very good. The book took time to explain things like setting, people’s emotions, people’s traits, and important background information. There was no time for these explanations the movie. The book, however, had parts in the beginning where some readers could become flustered.
This moment was the first encounter Wladylsaw Szpilman had with the Second World War. It was just the beginning of a terrible tragedy that unfolded for Szpilman. The movie The Pianist is a depiction of this tragedy. At its very core, the movie is a tale of survival. As the German forces systematically eliminated his home, his possessions, even his family, Wladyslaw Szpilman had a force inside of him that kept him going. The Pianist follows Szpilman's journey, showing his love for the music pulling him through the horror of times. And it was this love that kept him going for the near half decade he spent living hell.
...director did not limit the film to its historical context but extended the same to romance and fantasy. From a different angle of view, the director made use of the theme to communicate with the viewers and the fictional characters can be considered as his tools. Besides, ample importance is given to historical and fictional characters. In short, the amalgamation of history, fantasy and romance constituted much to the film’s importance as a historical/fictional masterpiece.