Read the book sometime
Although I really liked this movie a lot, the Japanese book it is based on is even better. (And if you don't like to read much, it's really short).
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MovieChat Forums > The Sailor Who Fell from Grace with the Sea (1976) Discussion > Read the book sometime
The idea that this was made into a Western film when the book was Japanese is really ridiculous in my mind. I know there are tons of movies that make that jump (especially in the horror genre), but this isn't just some slasher film. The book is fraught with Japanese ideologies that are completely alien to most Westerners, so trying to put those ideas onto a Western platform is ridiculous. The only way audiences would understand it would be to either dumb it down or Westernize it (which could be considered the same thing).
Having just read the book, but with the disadvantage of never having seen the film, I could be way off base, but the whole idea of this being a Western film is just absurd in my mind.
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I have to agree - although I haven't read the book - that it really did not translate well in to western style film. Although the film itself could have been great if the story had been different, the behaviour of the boys' characters was just so shocking and frankly unbelievable due to its sheer gore and evil, it just comes out of nowhere and the viewer does not know where this is coming from or why (or I didn't anyway!). Whereas since the original book on which it is based is riddled with Japanese ideologies and is set in Japan (presumably!) I am assuming had it been a movie for a Japanese audience they could relate/understand where this theme is coming from? For me, the boys' behaviour was just so shocking and incredible, and it was unfathomable to me as to where they could've come up with their ideas and beliefs, since they all were being raised in this isolated-seeming, cut off, small seaside village in the countryside.
share"For me, the boys' behaviour was just so shocking and incredible, and it was unfathomable to me as to where they could've come up with their ideas and beliefs, since they all were being raised in this isolated-seeming, cut off, small seaside village in the countryside."
nature abhors a vacuum. The cultural void will be filled with something, something that makes coherent sense, no matter how gruesome or evil it might be.
The Seven Samurai translated pretty well.
shareThanks very much for the recommendation. I plan to seek the book out, and though I love to read, I appreciate the fact that it's short because I'm severely backed up on my reading these days.
It's very apparent this is based on Japanese source material, but I disagree with the other poster (who hadn't seen this film) that it doesn't work. It's obvious this is based on Japanese mythology, but the cast and director find enough common ground to make the story work.