It
was extremely interesting to watch two episodes from the 2008 Russian
miniseries adaptation of the Brothers
Karamazov. What instantly struck me
was the rapidity with which the story unfolded.
I am sure that my colleagues share in my thought that at times the novel
seemed to progress ever-so slowly toward “the business”. In direct contrast to this is the speed with
which everything is introduced and accorded description in the miniseries. The ability to accomplish in a few scenes
what had taken Dostoyevsky a few chapters to accomplish is quite striking. In many ways I have a new found respect for
the level of detail the Dostoyevsky incorporated in his character descriptions
and the accounts of his character’s interactions.
As with any adaptation to film I was
immediately apprehensive as to the accuracy of the miniseries in regards to the
actual text. I have to say that I was
pleasantly surprised by the level of precision that the first two episodes
possessed in relation to Dostoyevsky’s original work. Despite the early entrance of Smerdyakov into
the storyline, there was actually little that I could find that blatantly
deviated from the text. Those small
details that did deviate were mostly supporting details, such as Dmitry
Fyodorovich’s deployment to Abkhazia…which was actually more of an added detail
that replaced his generic deployment in the text, which was simply implied as
“the Caucasus”. Even so, this does not
amount to some of the extravagant liberties I have witnessed in other literary
miniseries adaptations. In many ways I
feel as if the sheer importance of the work in relation to the body of Russian
literature may have aided in its faithful reproduction by the production
company and the screenwriters.
The only major flaw in the
miniseries production that I feel strongly enough about to vociferate is the
quickened pace of the story. After having
spent an entire semester reading Dostoyevsky in such a methodical manner, it
almost seems counterproductive to embark upon the story with such haste. In many ways I feel that I only managed to
keep up due to my own prior association with the text.
I agree with you on many points, especially considering viewers understanding of the miniseries. It goes along at such a quick pace that it would almost seem that reading the book would be a prerequisite. I wonder what sorts of reactions we would have had if we saw the first few episodes of the miniseries and then read the book.
ReplyDeleteI must say that Smerdyakov's entrance was quite disappointing. I was hoping to see the dreaded bath house and the steam Grigory always says he came from, as well as a greater back story to his mother, which we got in the book. Perhaps it comes later or I have mixed up my timeline.
I also found the pace to be rather fast, and I think at some points it was to the detriment of the larger story. The way in which Dostoyevsky is able to build detail is impressive, and some of that quality is certainly sacrificed here. Not only were the details lacking, but as you point out, at times so was chronology. Without reading the novel beforehand, I think this miniseries would not have made nearly as much sense.
ReplyDeleteMy appreciation for Dostoyevsky's sharp attention to detail also increased while watching the Russian miniseries adaptation to the novel. What took us two weeks to read was depicted in an hour's worth of film. And I didn't notice anything extremely relevant missing, other than the few things you mentioned in your post. I suppose without television and movies to watch, authors of stories needed to be generous with their details. That's not to say that authors today neglect details, but Dostoyevsky is certainly intricate with his deliverance of details.
ReplyDeleteAs you predicted, I share the general view that the story developed rather quickly in the mini-series. However, I'm grateful for the visual emphasis on certain scenes and details that escaped me during my reading. For example, as I noted in my blog on the mini-series, the scene with Katerina Ivanovna and Mitya seemed much more humiliating on screen than it did when I was reading the novel. As much as I appreciate the care Dostoyevsky took in crafting the novel, there are moments when the heavy detail DOES detract from my sense of pacing of the events: moments that lasted only a minute or two seem to drag on for 5 minutes because of all the details that we as readers must sift through. It's easy for my train of thought to become derailed...
ReplyDeleteI agree. The story is moving along much MUCH faster than the book. While this did bother me a little bit, I don't think that it too away from the main point of the story. What was so different to me was the fact that we don't have the voice of the narrator throughout the miniseries. Without him, the whole importance of "the business" doesn't seem as important. I feel that without him, this might change the interpretation of a lot of parts of the story. I'm interested in seeing how they will deal with this because the narrator is such a large part of the story; he is his own character and without him, the story does feel different.
ReplyDelete