Today I found myself stranded at the Wilton, Connecticut train station for two hours. I had just nearly missed the train and was the only person left at the station. It was 5:45. The next train would be arriving at 9:30. After finishing the free real estate and parenting literature, fifteen minutes into my wait, I found myself staring blankly at the tracks which eventually triggered memories of our most recent in-class film, Bertolucci's "The Spider's Strategem." The specific scene playing in my head was the scene in which the main character discovers he is trapped in the maddening town of Tara. He sits alone at the station and observes the weeds that had grown over the tracks and realizes that he had been waiting for a train that would never come. A similar thought occurred to me.
I greatly enjoyed "The Spider's Stratagem." While I can't say I'm usually offended by a film's departure from its hypotext, I was pleased by Bertolucci's fidelity to The Theme of the Traitor and the Hero. Because of its narrative distance and brevity, I found Borges' story to be emotionally detached from Ryan. This, of course, was intentional and necessary in order to preserve the ambiguity of the story, however, I was delighted to see the story told from a more intimate perspective. I felt that despite the changes in location and historical background, he film helped bring a sense of clarity to the short story. A visually stunning piece of cinema, "The Spider's Stratagem” showcased Bertolucci's immense filmmaking capabilities. His images were captivating and while they possessed a traditional beauty, I thought his style was highly innovative.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
I agree with the comments on the visual beauty and innovativeness of Bertolucci's film. Of course, much of the film's innovations has to do with what I take to be the most characteristic, though, at the same time, problematic aspect of The Spider's Stratagem, the incorporation within Borges's basic plot framework of psychoanalytic motifs.
ReplyDelete