On my previous post I told you about the
literary works that have been made into films lately and among them, I drew
your attention to a film that was about to be released: The Great Gatsby. So if you´ve
watched this film, I´d love to read your opinion about it.
I think that the way you feel moved by a film
based on a book varies a great deal depending on whether you are acquainted
with the original story or not because if you are not familiar with the plot or
the characters on which the film is based, you are likely to understand and
react to the film in a very different way. I must admit to being a lover of the
story written by F. Scott Fitzgerald and despite the spectacular, glittering,
dazzling production which may also have made the story become devoid of its
depth or subtlety, I enjoyed watching this film.
I feel that Baz Luhrmann is wonderful at
creating the vivid 1920s atmosphere in which all the singing, the dancing and
Jay-Z´s music play a very important part. In addition, Luhrmann is also very
good at depicting the special relationship – full of tenderness and sweet
moments – between Gatsby and Daisy when their love is rekindled. Nevertheless,
the viewer who is aware of the plot of the novel resents the fact that some
of the most important parts of the novel go unnoticed. To put it in a nutshell,
if someone tried to describe this film, that person could easily use the
proverb: “you can´t see the wood for the trees” which is a rough way of saying
that Luhrmann´s film can be regarded as shallow in the sense that he has paid a
great deal of attention to lots of details that are part of the depiction
rendered by Fitzgerald´s novel but he has not devoted the same attention to the
nuances of the story.
Anyway, I don’t wish to tell you more about
those details because this blog should be a space to share opinions, views and
experiences but it is not my desire to pontificate on any of them. That´s why,
I would like to make clear that if you really love watching films, you ought to
watch the film so that you can form an opinion for yourself. Regardless of reviews, critics or news coming from the various mass media,
my piece of advice is that you should go to the cinema. No matter what experts
on films tell you from the digital or traditional papers or from the
specialised magazines, if you are a real filmgoer you ought to go to the
pictures because watching a film – just like reading a book or watching a
painting or any other type of cultural or artistic manifestation – is one of
the most personal and pleasant experiences, therefore don´t let anyone take
that away from you: go to the cinema and enjoy the film you watch and rejoice
in your choice or hate yourself for two hours (only for two hours) for making
the wrong decision – but hey, life is about making decisions – but even then,
you are bound to get or learn something from that experience …
Please, don´t let film reviewers discourage you
from going to the cinema, a film reviewer may be more knowledgeable about
cinema than you are but he / she can´t dictate what you enjoy or what should
move you. Read, gather and exchange information and learn but feel free to
differ, to discuss, to think differently and have your own opinion.
