tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12690266.post3194632938086652934..comments2024-03-24T20:15:00.996-04:00Comments on Critic After Dark: Hakuchi (The Idiot, Akira Kurosawa, 1951)Noel Verahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05904212081036547668noreply@blogger.comBlogger7125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12690266.post-33093448010351117952020-04-28T04:50:36.096-04:002020-04-28T04:50:36.096-04:00Both represented. I don't see them perfectly s...Both represented. I don't see them perfectly served, not by voiceovers and titles.<br /><br />I do love the film, but the only way to judge the missing portion is to see it in place Noel Verahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05904212081036547668noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12690266.post-54295001434208037182020-04-27T15:42:11.096-04:002020-04-27T15:42:11.096-04:00actually, the Novel took place in two segments. A...actually, the Novel took place in two segments. A crazy 48 hour period, separated by 6 month gap, and then a frantic 2 weeks. Roughly. so, both seasons were represented.<br />This FILM is so perfect; one can only pine for the missing 90 some minutes. Kirosawa was awed by Dostoyevski, and pays great homage. I am sure the feeling would be mutual were it possible.<br />These are my favorite creators in the two respective fieldsjohn reesehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14870535197554113590noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12690266.post-84481515695956887912018-07-31T17:54:44.516-04:002018-07-31T17:54:44.516-04:00"Russian winter that often seems like another..."Russian winter that often seems like another character" Amazingly Dostoevsky set much of the novel--well the novel's ending anyway--in hot summer. The transition seems seamless, or does to me anyway. Noel Verahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05904212081036547668noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12690266.post-12171853812942249582018-07-31T15:21:13.059-04:002018-07-31T15:21:13.059-04:00I am such a fan of Kurosawa that I wondered how he...I am such a fan of Kurosawa that I wondered how he would transform a Russian novel onto the screen. Kurosawa has adapted many masterpieces into Japanese films that retain the essence of the original such as Ran (King Lear) and Throne of Blood (Macbeth), but I think it is easier for a Japanese to do Shakespeare than Dostoevsky. Then a serendipitous moment came about at 3 a.m. Monday. I woke up, turned on the TV and found that The Idiot had just begun, so I sat there and watched it until it finished at six o'clock. I enjoyed all the symbolism and camera points of view that Kurosawa is famous for. However, as usual, the characters' interactions are always most important. Setting the movie in Sapporo gave it the Russian winter that often seems like another character. I thought that the performances of the four main characters were marvelous. The ending was realistic although I hated to see Kameda end so, but it worked because the other characters appreciated The Idiot now that he was gone from their lives.Jocobonoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12690266.post-63608514687728290352007-11-27T17:52:00.000-05:002007-11-27T17:52:00.000-05:00to czaro:I don't see why not; there's an earnestne...to czaro:<BR/><BR/>I don't see why not; there's an earnestness to Kurosawa and Dostoevesky that makes them go hand in glove. See Ikiru; it could almost be a Dostoevskian novel. Same with Red Beard. <BR/><BR/>bob: heh, heh.Noel Verahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05904212081036547668noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12690266.post-47017863759617047782007-11-27T02:47:00.000-05:002007-11-27T02:47:00.000-05:00I've always been curious about this Kurosawa film....I've always been curious about this Kurosawa film. And doubly so since I read the Dostoyevsky novel.<BR/><BR/>But, though you make a good comparative case, somehow I just can't "see" Kurosawa filming this novel. I think I'll put it off a while longer...Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12690266.post-36082627485378215052007-11-24T18:38:00.000-05:002007-11-24T18:38:00.000-05:00Another late Kurosaw-o-thon comment...I'm not sure...Another late Kurosaw-o-thon comment...I'm not sure what to say but thanks for reminding me that this film exists. Though I love both Kurosawa and big D. -- well, mainly just "Brothers Karamazov" so far -- it's been added to my newly minted Netflix queue (along with a few odd Lino Brocka and Gerardo de Leon films, which I swear I'm going to finally get around to at least sampling soon. My only excuse up to now boils down to my old online DVD rental company, the less said about the better!)<BR/><BR/>I'm really looking forward to this one for a strange reason. Even though I read "The Idiot" maybe just six or seven years ago or so, all I can remember is that it had some naive guy named Mishkin in it and I think he fell in love or something. Fortunately, movies can sometimes help me to recover lost literary memories.<BR/><BR/>Oh, and did you hear that the Russians are coming out with a new car called "the Dostoyevsky"? It's going to be available in a two-door and a Fyodor.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com