I was referring to the book; the film
adaptation is blasphemy.
I can't imagine the worst possible way
to destroy the whole beauty of The Count of Monte Cristo other
than the way it has been adapted, changed, and ruined in this
particular film. The reason that I have restrained myself so long
before deciding to watch it at the first place is the duration. You
can't condense Monte Cristo into
two brief hours without butchering it. Comparison: the best
adaptation of Pride and Prejudice by
Jane Austen, a novel in 200 something pages, is a mini series of 6
episodes. Monte Cristo is
a big thick chunk you can use as a pillow. It covers the lives of so
many people, each with his own story, his own past, his own choices,
and his own end. It's a lesson of life and death, of happiness and
sorrow, of courage and cowardice, of love and hatred, of loyalty and
betrayal. It's not “just a
love story”.
The
film is just a love story.
It is
so comically predictable. Sex scene of the unmarried couple in the
beginning is quite a spoiler for the “whose-son-is-he” near the
end. The picture of saintly woman trying to do the “right” thing is a stark contrast with Mercedes I'm familiar with.
Instead of facing the fact that this woman was good enough waiting
for 18 months before she married Fernand, without knowing whether
Edmond was dead or alive, the film gives her 1 month only to mourn
for her beloved thinking that he was dead – but with good excuse of
being pregnant. Positive side, the count had an excellent opportunity
to say “in a month you won't even remember my name”, and Fernand
later on, had a privilege to say to his supposedly son, “Your
mother was a whore in her youth as much as she is now.”
And
the love story ends happily. The Count of Monte Cristo has a family
by the time the film ends, the beautiful lady reunited with her true
love, the young son has a brand new rich father, the rival is dead,
and everything's perfect. Nobody cares that it makes Albert a bastard
in a society that regards birth as something substantially important.
Nobody cares that by
revealing himself as Dantes before the law he puts himself under the
law, and is punishable for breaking out of jail. It's
a neverland after all.
Oh,
and the other people. I'd forgotten. Were there any other people? I
mean, people of importance? Where's
Haidee, who opened the future for the Count? Where's Ali, the Nubian,
who had been the Count's loyal slave and best friend? Max, every one,
the boy for whom the Count had greatest affection? Where are the
other dozen of people whose lives were improved, ruined, or ended by
the Count's determination?
Another
important aspect of Dumas' Monte Cristo is
the elaborate plan he had made just to avenge himself. He didn't
touch those people with his own hand. Like an angel of death, instead
of shooting a man with a gun he shaped the circumstances leading to
their own ruins. Certainly not by exposing his source of riches as
a bait for mouse-trap-like ambush. Not his style. Goodness! How I
want to rant about the way he found Haidee, the way he got Bertuccio,
the way he set Andrea Calvacanti on the stage, the way he intercepted
and modified the telegrams, the way he dried up Danglars' fortune!
Those smart elaborate plan changed into a sword fight and two
ambushes. What?!
Blasphemy
as it is, I shouldn't trample upon it so mercilessly. There are good
bits in it. My favourite being Albert's reaction to his kidnapping in
the catacombs (although actually, because he's the Count's son it
doesn't really matter any more. It's just further proof that good
trees yield good fruit, bad trees don't have a chance to change).
But
maybe the film was written for modern world. Premarital sex and
adultery are presented as harmless and normal while in the setting of
the story it's a great taboo and a bad reflection on the Count's merit as
a gentleman. As for me, a gentle and honourable Edmond
Dantes of the book is more preferable. Monte Cristo's speech in
Albert's birthday fits perfectly into the moral of the film and the
taste of revenge and hatred in the modern world. “Do your worst
because I will do mine.” I'd rather choose his final message, a message of evidently a wiser man, “Wait
and Hope.”
Posts
Well, now I know never to watch the movie! Thanks for an excellent rant. I don't know that a really good adaptation could be made--the moral structure of the book, as you note, is completely foreign to modern Hollywood, and it would have to be a really long series (no mini about it!), which would cost a lot to do. I'd love to see a really good film version, though.
ReplyDeleteI'd readily sign a petition for a good film interpretation. Anyway, it's still good to watch it, and complain about it to your heart's desire. :D
DeleteHave you seen the adaptation with Jean Marais? I remember really liking it, and it's fairly close to the book. And Jean Marais is great, as usual :)
ReplyDeletehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Count_of_Monte_Cristo_%281954_film%29
No, it's the first adaptation of Monte Cristo I've ever watched. But I don't think I would be satisfied with any interpretation that unites Dantes and Mercedes in the end.
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