Norwegian Wood - The Movie (ahah) - Alanis

 When reading Norwegian Wood, there were a lot of scenes that were hard for me to picture. Upon seeing the movie though, I can say that the movie made me visualize some things, but it also left some things to be desired.

Coming into all of this, I wanted to enjoy the movie because I automatically go in and expect the movie to be worse than the book itself, since that has been my experience. I liked having a visualization of where things were happening, as I assume other people have said, but also I think that the inclusion of certain things just made no sense, and these additions were clearly made just for monetary value such as the sex scenes. While I did appreciate seeing how Kitzumi died, I sort of wish I hadn’t seen it so I wouldn’t imagine it (but that’s just a touchy subject for me, I am sure this is an amazing addition to the movie).

However, I feel like this movie could have helped me get into the heads (or an interpretation of the heads) of the main characters, but I didn’t really get that as much as I wanted to. I think some complex ideas from the book are hard to put into the movie, and while they tried, I just did not think it was there. I think in general this novel and many of other Murakami works just elevate one man and make women seem bad and they go through a lot of things, and I wish this was not the case every single time.

Norwegian Wood Movie - Blog #3 - Evan

Before watching the film, I thought that translating Norwegian Wood from a book into a movie would be an impossible task. This is a story so dense that I truly didn't think it could be done. After watching it, I fear that that assumption remains. There are definite improvements made to the book in the movie, but overall I feel as if the story is hurt by this change in medium.

One of the things I feel that the film improved greatly upon was the setting of the story. The University protests provided a very interesting background to the beginning of the film that didn't feel very important in the novel. I also think that some of the scenes in the story were better understood in a visual medium. For instance, one of the most initially pivotal scenes in the story, Naoko's birthday party, felt much more impactful in the film. For one thing, it seemed much clearer that Toru took advantage of Naoko in her vulnerable state, which really changed the way I viewed a lot of his actions later in the story as well.

I feel that most details in Murakami stories matter greatly, and although some scenes absolutely had to be cut in order to meet a time limit, it hurts the story. For instance, Stormtrooper's importance, in general, is significantly curtailed, to a point that he hardly seems relevant at all. This also means that the firefly scene isn't present, which I feel marked the first big shift in the narrative. 

Ultimately, I enjoyed watching the movie a lot. If it had one thing, it was an atmosphere, and I think that is one of the most important things to nail if you are adapting Murakami to film.

Norwegain Wood - from Yennie

I think that the movie was great. Of all the books we read this semester, I have been the most drawn to Norwegian Wood. It was difficult for me to put down, so I was really excited to watch this movie. I thought that the movie was shot very artistically; and if I was to watch it again, I think I would try to pay more attention to the cinematography and the intentions behind the shots. I also thought that the scoring was beautiful and almost haunting at times, which I believe to be indicative of great skill and storytelling. I would love to see someone create a playlist of the music in this movie. Additionally, the locations were absolutely beautiful and make me want to visit Japan in the near future. I’m not sure when the film was produced, but I think the costuming and sets were also very natural and fitting of the time period during which the book was set.

I never think that movies that are based on books ever live up to the book, and I found that to be true in this case as well. I felt that I was only able to grasp the depth of Watanabe’s character from my previous reading of the book – I don’t think I would’ve understood the complexities of his persona from just watching the movie. I did think that the movie was a little slow and dragged on at times, but I felt that it was intentional to create discomfort for the viewer in high intensity situations like when Watanbe is alone with Naoko. 

I would have liked to see some more humor, like with Stormtrooper. I thought that it would break up the intensity of the movie and allow for a more entertaining viewing experience. However, I think the movie did the best it could do considering how complex the realm of mental health and young adult life is.

 

Norwegian Wood Reflection Brittany Olson

     I honestly did not have high hopes at all for this movie. Norwegian Wood is probably my least favorite Murakami novel so far. I felt like the characters were not developed enough (especially Midori) and primarily used as a foil for Toru's own growth. Almost on the level of a Manic Pixie Dream Girl aesthetic before the trope was even created. I also felt that the dialogue was almost painful to read at times and I really struggled to finish the book.

     The movie didn't fair much better. Strictly from a film perspective, I thought there were a lot of really interesting and beautiful shots. However, the decisions made when adapting the book left a lot to be desired. The pacing was extremely rushed and jarring at times. I think the movie was more focused on romance to appeal to audiences as well as contrasting Naoko and Midori's view on life, which isn't necessarily a bad thing. However, to fit in a 2 hour run time, a lot of the scenes that make the characters more sympathetic are left out. The scene about Midori's father seemed pointless with how short they cut multiple pages into a 15 second scene of Toru just staring at him. None of Toru's actual interactions with him, or the harshness towards Midori in the hospital room was shown, which is really disappointing as this was one of the scenes in the book that gave both characters more depth. Even Reiko becomes so vague and washed out as a character in this movie compared to the book that none of her decisions carry any weight or understanding for the audience. I also think a big part of understanding Toru and Nagasawa as characters comes through the discussion at dinner with Hatsumi, especially Nagasawa claiming that they are the same, Toru just hasn't realized yet. Of course that was not included. Overall I think the film adaptation might have been biting off more than it could chew, as well as focusing on the wrong details to get the story across. 

    I'm kind of disappointed that I didn't enjoy this story, as when talking about Murakami, so many people claim this to be his masterpiece. If I read this back in middle school or even high school I probably would have liked it more. I just feel like Murakami has so much more to offer in his other work.

-Brittany Olson 

Blog Post #3 - Film Adaptation of Norwegian Wood

 The film adaptation of Norwegian Wood takes an artistic and quietly emotional approach to moving the story from the novel to the screen. Firstly, I was struck with the depiction of Kizuki's suicide, as in the novel, I could not really picture how he killed himself through his methods, but the movie visually showed how it happened and I realized that it must have taken longer for him to pass away than I previously thought, which also makes Toru's comment that he was not sure how long it took for Kizuki to die more clear to me. However, much less time was spend on Naoko's suicide, and though the movie shows a grim scene of her hanging, more time is spent showing Toru's reaction to her death which highlights his emotional response but leaves out the complexities of her character. That being said, the scenes of him crying amongst the rocks and other moments of scenery/landscape enhanced the cinematography, adding in visual elements that highlights feelings of hopelessness, loss, grief, beauty, etc. that aligns with the tones of the novel. I also thought the movie score contributed to the overall atmosphere of the movie, especially in the high-intensity orchestral background at the end. As is usually the case, the movie adaptation left out some scenes from the novel, but I do think the omissions watered down the story so the character development and plot progression didn't make as much sense. This had the consequence of me connecting less with the characters and I felt that I sympathized with them more while reading the novel. I also felt that the inclusion of the sex scenes didn't fit as well, as they left out Toru's inner thoughts and physical descriptions. It was interesting to see visual adaptations of the characters as they work through loss and love in their comings of age, but the movie didn't really resonate with me well and I found that some scenes were hard to get through.

- Alice Liao

NW Movie Alex DeRosa

 I wasn't sure what to expect going into this movie. It seemed like a daunting task to adapt everything that happened. For this reason, it made sense that the pacing felt much faster than it did in the book, and I think it worked well for me. However, because I already had the context from the book, I wonder if the pacing would be too fast or unclear for a viewer going in blind. I thought the cinematography and use of color was beautiful, and it fit the themes of the book well. It's hard for me to say I liked the story, but I think that's because I didn't love the book, so it's hard for me to like it any better here no matter how well done the film is. I think that the film did a good job adding to some pivotal scenes though, like Naoko's birthday. I could genuinely feel Naoko's pain more in the film, and the scene really highlighted how Toru took advantage of her. Overall, I thought it was a decent adaptation of the book, but I didn't love the book in the first place. 

Norwegian Wood film vs novel

I thought some parts of the movie were really well adapted but overall the film lacked some key elements that were present in the novel. Naoko's character felt very similar to me. In both the novel and film her closed off personality made sense. In the film, her moments of despair hit harder given more visuals and sound juxtaposition between her silence and screaming. Midori on the other hand was not well adapted in my opinion; she was a lot more subdued and mysterious in the film while in the novel she's more outgoing and blunt with Watanabe. Overall, I felt like the film toned down on the bizarre, funny or nasty moments of life to appeal to a wider commercial audience but without these aspects of realism the film doesn't have the same effect of the novel. Also I feel like the editing of the film was really abrupt and choppy which made some plot/character development even more confusing than it already was. And Reiko's character was so completely hollowed out the ending didn't make any sense either.

--Viv