book v movie

recently gave it a rewatch after having read the alan warner book.

it translated fairly well save one of the most attractive aspects of the book- the linguistic strangeness and beauty.

integrity of tone and morvern's spirit maintained overall, i thought, and faithful. some of the details of course had to be fudged with in the interest of time, but no omissions that resulted in thematic ambiguity.

the book ends with a bun in morvern's oven. i kind of wish that part was included in the movie. reading it was tremendous. touching. made all the events that preceded even sadder in retrospect.

ramsay's directorial hand could have been a bit heavier on the BUGS point... i remember being confused about how morvern just ended up at that boy's room.

this scene depicted in the film relies on the bug motif established with scenes previous.

in the book morvern hears the boy "greeting" (crying).

a small detail, surely, and one that doesn't detract or distract. i'm just sayin'.

lastly, morvern callar's a desperate, moving, gorgeous piece of cinema. i just simply love this movie. i say this knowing full well a lot of people don't/won't like it. willl hate it aggressively and think less of people who DO like it, claiming they're arthouse *beep* who'll swallow any foreign detritus thrown at american shores.

not the case.

i certainly don't considered myself a more evolved person artistically just cause i love it. i also don't make claims to really understand most of it. but i think part of the loveliness in this, part of the sadness and bottomless yearning is that it's a movie that doesn't try to answer any questions, not because audience questions aren't valid, but it's just that self-possessed. you're in for the ride. strap in, shut up, or get out.

it's a portrait of grief to the verge of madness. the movie and the title character herself are both uncompromising. i admire that kind of venom and sincerity.