Norwegian Wood Movie

 I was skeptical that a movie could do justice to the complexity of feelings evoked in Norwegian Wood, but I thought that the movie adaptation was very well done. It had the same dreamlike, sad, disjointed and melancholy feeling. It was interesting to see what was emphasized in the book vs the movie. For example, I felt the backdrop of the student protests much more, I was more aware of the manual labor of Toru’s jobs, and I thought it was interesting that in the movie, you really notice that Toru and Naoko do not talk openly about their feelings and their past. I thought it was particularly interesting that in the movie, Naoko, not Toru, is the one to say she thinks people should go back and forth between 18 and 19 forever, and Toru laughs in a sad way at it. I think this change is necessary for the movie format, because it more clearly hints at the difference between Naoko and Toru that led Toru to live. I think in the book, the distinction between Naoko and Toru’s outlook is more subtle, and you can see the potential for Toru to commit suicide as well. I think this makes the book more powerful, because Toru’s effort to live becomes so much more significant, because you see how similar he is to Naoko. But I don’t think the movie format allows for this to be conveyed subtly, and so changing this dialogue from Toru to Naoko is helpful. 

I did find that Midori didn’t have the same energy and determined-ness in the movie as she did in the book. I think this was partly because the directors took out all mentions of her taking action: they don’t show her getting up at the cafe and consciously going over to Toru, they don’t show her inviting him to lunch and not showing up, they don’t show her asking him to wait for her calls, etc. She’s primarily the one to answer questions, not ask them. This helps give a muted feel to movie, that is important, but I think Midori loses some of her power and character.

Hallie