Evaluating Film’s Alzheimer’s Depiction
ANSWER
The short story “The bear came over the mountain” by Alice Munro was as a major source of inspiration for the 2006 movie Away from her, which chronicles Fiona and Grant’s journey as she develops Alzheimer’s. There are a number of crucial factors to take into account when contrasting the two in order to judge how accurately the story and the movie portray Alzheimer’s disease.
The first thing to think about is if you believe the movie portrays the characters in the short story fairly. As in Munro’s short story, Grant is portrayed as being understanding and patient rather than becoming impatient with Fiona’s condition. The film does a fantastic job of expressing the essence of Grant’s love and support for Fiona despite her dementia, even though some aspects from the short tale have been changed.
In Egoyan’s movie, the themes from Munro’s story are still apparent. For instance, both the short story and the movie consistently focus on the issue of family interactions. It is examined in the film through the interactions of individuals like Wilfrid and his mother and Wilfrid and his brother Robert. Both also deal with the issue of identity, as Wilfrid struggles with his identity as a Canadian who was born in America. Additionally, both versions have a consistent sense of alienation and loneliness. This is revealed in the movie when Wilfrid, unlike his brother Robert, who has grown up with his American relatives, feels estranged from them while visiting them.
Overall, Egoyan’s film adaptation does a good job of capturing the themes of Munro’s narrative and even adds a couple of his own features to emphasise these themes. The original theme of Munro’s narrative is still present in both versions, despite some differences between them. This demonstrates Egoyan’s talent as a director and demonstrates how even small alterations to an existing story can still have a significant impact.
The central idea of Munro’s short tale emphasises how it is impossible to escape the past and how it might show up in unexpected ways. throughout Egoyan’s film, June starts to notice that all of her memories are coming back to haunt her, and this is repeated throughout the story. She actively connects with these memories and the emotions they are associated with rather than attempting to ignore or hide them, finally discovering her own route to closure. This highlights the value of introspection and self-reflection, which can aid in letting go of the past and forging ahead.
This notion is further supported by the symbolism included in both pieces. The dolls act as a constant reminder in Munro’s novel that June’s past is never really forgotten. Images of June’s childhood house and the vehicle accident act as powerful visual cues of the incidents that impacted her life in Egoyan’s film.
Overall, Egoyan does a good job of sensitively and creatively adapting Munro’s story for the big screen. The overall message hasn’t changed, even though some components have been added or updated. Viewers can therefore enjoy both pieces as equally potent investigations of the influence of introspection and closure.
QUESTION
HUM 1050 – Introduction to Literature
Unit 4 Discussion (9/25-10/1) Evaluating Film
For this discussion, you should view the film Away from her (Egoyan et al., 2006). This week we will use the Munro short story “The bear came over the mountain? (2013) as the criteria against which to evaluate the film Away from her (Egoyan et al., 2006). You will be making a judgment based on the evidence from the story and the film to evaluate how well the film depicts the story and how well the story and the film depict Alzheimer’s.
· Do you think the film accurately depicts the characters in the short story?
· Do you think that the film justifies the themes of the story?
· Does the film accurately depict Alzheimer’s?
· Does the film present as overly sentimental?
· Do you prefer the film or the short story?
You should DO THREE SEPARATE POSTS ON THIS CONTENT ACTIVITY
References
Egoyan, A. Hirst, V., Iron, D. Mankoff, D. Urdl, S. Weiss, J. (Producers), & Polley, S. (Director). (2006).
Away from her. [Motion picture]. Canada: Foundry Film
Munro, A. (2013, Oct 21). The bear came over the mountain. The New Yorker.
https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2013/10/21/the-bear-came-over-the-mountain-2
All citations from the film should be: (Egoyan et al., 2006).
Add timestamp number to citations with direct quotes from the film.
Add a para. number to citations with direct quotes from the story.
