~ Bel Canto ~ the book and film ~
If only Ang Lee had directed the film of Bel Canto.
The exquisite novel by Ann Patchett is widely thought to be her best. It is approximately based on the 1996 event in Lima, Peru, where a terrorist group held hundreds of hostages for over three months in the Japanese ambassador’s house. In Patchett’s version, a senior Japanese executive, Mr Hosakawa, has been invited to a diplomatic event in an unnamed South American country in the hope that his company will invest in the country. He travels with his interpreter, Gen Watanabe. An American opera singer, Roxane Coss, is to perform at the event, at enormous expense. The terrorists burst in, hoping to capture the president, only to discover that he has not attended the event. But now they are trapped; they cannot leave because of the soldiers laying siege outside. Their only hope is that Roxane Coss’ fame will swing the negotiations to their side.
The novel is riveting; both in the moments of high tension and the quieter sections where tedium and frustration set in, and relationships develop. After the first few days of high tension, a strange sort of routine develops. Roxane needs to practice to keep her vocal chords exercised, and the terrorists, who have a strong incentive to keep her happy, rush to fulfill her diva-like demands.
And the music: everyone in the house stops to listen to Roxane’s amazing voice trilling arias during practice. Gen, the only person who can talk to the Spanish terrorists, the multinational diplomats, and his own Japanese boss, becomes the fulcrum of the household. In the suspended animation of the hostage household, romantic attachments develop between the married Hosakawa and his adored Roxane, and between Gen and one of the young terrorist women. And the weary Red Cross negotiator begins to understand General Benjamin, the terrorist leader.
The film has a marvellous cast. Julianne Moore is one of the few actresses I could imagine as Roxane Coss. Ken Watanabe has the dignity and presence to make a superb Hosakawa, and Ryo Kase is a charming Gen. The film puts two of the terrorists in the foreground, played by Tenoch Huerta and Maria Mercedes Coroy. And Roxane’s songs are performed by Renee Fleming!
Every character speaks in the appropriate language: Spanish, Japanese, French, English, Russian, so the subtitles come thick and fast at times. Sometimes one has to wait until Gen translates for the viewer. I liked this; it’s always a pleasure to hear the sounds and rhythms of other languages, and it’s annoying when characters in films speak English when this is not supposed to be their native language.
Despite the strong book and excellent casting, the film is like a photograph which has been Photoshopped to increase contrast: the subtlety of the developing relationships are blurred, the highs and lows are more startling, and the delicate beauty of the original has been lost. Roxane vibrates between high diva attitude and slightly bewildering love. Ryo Case’s relationship with Maria seems to start abruptly, out of nowhere. The terrorists never seem to get quite as much screen time as they should (but then they are competing with Hollywood stars).
Perhaps this is because time inevitably appears compressed in the movie, as compared to the book. The film moves briskly on from scene to scene, never quite allowing the sense of quietude to develop. This is where I can imagine Ang Lee somehow bringing out the stillness and pauses in the book, as he did in Brokeback Mountain.
Sometimes the film of a great novel is such that one cannot ever imagine anyone else in those roles thereafter. This is, sad to say, not the case with Bel Canto; although the actors were good enough, there is enough missing in the film that makes it unmemorable. Play the music from the film while you read the book.
The Novel: Bel Canto, by Ann Patchett. Perennial (Harper Collins), 2001.
The Film: Bel Canto, directed by Paul Weisz. Starring Julianne Moore, Ken Watanabe, Ryo Kase, Sebastian Koch, Maria Mercedes Coroy, Tenoch Huerta. 2018
p.s. My daughter said the plot reminded her of this 🙂
Loved the review. For once I am moved to both read the novel and watch the film.
As regards the inability of films (or of some directors) to properly represent time in film, do you think a serialised version would be better at conveying the sense of time as well as the experience of reading a novel ?
A TV serial would give the director more time to explore the developing relationships, for sure. But I can also imagine that some episodes could get pretty dull — how many people want to watch a group of hostages cooking up chicken soup? The book has that sense of routine and small significant changes over time. I don’t know enough about movie-making to know how a director would get that across.