It isn’t often I can say a renowned figure’s unfortunate passing has
made me think of a movie, but with the passing of Pope Francis, the
Vatican will need to move through the process of selecting a new head of
the Catholic Church. What should I do if I want to find out more about
this highly secretive, age-old process? Watch the movie
Conclave
of course, or, even better, read the novel.
I’m a firm believer that if a film was based on a book, you ought to
read the book first, just to know what you’re really getting into.
Conclave will be the nth in a long list of book-to-movie
adaptations on my list, and it hopefully won’t be the last.
Experiencing the changes a story goes through when adapted for the
big screen can be extremely interesting, engaging, or downright awful
and upsetting. Books have been turned into movies and shows for decades.
Some stories, like Sherlock Holmes and A Christmas
Carol, have been turned into several television shows and movies,
spanning a little more than 100 years. Even ancient stories, like
The Odyssey attributed to Homer, have experienced several film
adaptations. These days, popular books are still being moved to the big
screen, and below are a few of the newer ones that caught my eye,
starting with the most relevant, Conclave.
Conclave
If you ever wanted to know more about the Vatican, seemingly the most
important hub of the Roman Catholic Church and one of the smallest
recognized countries, put down that history book and look no further
than Robert Harris’
Conclave.
Those other books may give you an accurate record of events, but they
won’t deliver the platinum level mystery of this story. When the pope
dies unexpectedly, Cardinal Lawrence has the responsibility of
coordinating the most stressful and solemn political campaigning of all
time—the Conclave, a voting process culminating in the appointment of a
new pope. Being an agent of holiness isn’t a barrier to ambition and
conspiracy, however, and Lawrence finds himself becoming a holy
detective on a mission to uncover secrets weaved into the very
foundations of the Catholic Church.
The Wild Robot
Based on the first
book
in a series by Peter Brown,
The
Wild Robot follows a helper robot mistakenly washed up on the
shores of an uninhabited island after their carrier vessel sinks.
Uninhabited by people that is, but filled to the brim with a wonderful
assortment of wild animals. What’s a helper robot to do with nobody to
help? Learn the language of the animals and find somebody to help,
opposable thumbs or not! Roz was ready to sign up for any task her furry
acquaintances could give her, except for the daunting responsibility of
motherhood. With a helpless little gosling and a time-limit of migration
before the coming winter, Roz learns what it means to actually live.
Wicked
Wicked
is technically based on a Broadway play, which was based on a
book
by Gregory Maguire, which was based on a film from the 1930’s, which was
also based on an even older series of books. So at least somewhere down
the line, the 2024 film is based on a book. This magical musical follows
two witches attending college in the fantastical land of Oz—Elphaba and
Galinda. This pair of young women couldn’t be more different: one likes
fashion, the other likes books; one comes from an affluent family, the
other has had green skin since birth. Watch (or read about) their time
at Shiz university, learning magic, making friends, and sneaking out
after dark. As you follow these students in their youthful-shenanigans,
don’t forget the threat of the future looming above them. How does
Elphaba, strangely average freshman, become the Wicked Witch of the
West?
Mickey 17 (2025) [Mickey 7]
Mickey
17 was adapted from the novel
Mickey
7, which isn’t a confusing name change at all, and definitely
didn’t make it harder for me to find it in the catalog... With the
creative direction of Bong Joon Ho, director of
Parasite, and
the storytelling of author Edward Ashton,
Mickey 17 (or 7)
follows Mickey Barnes, an “expendable,” the guy you send out to the
surface of a planet to see if it’s habitable enough for a colony. With
the convenience of biological copy-clones, he gets to be virtually
immortal, at the expense of his sense of humanity. When one copy, 7 or
17 (depending on the medium), doesn’t actually die on his most recent
excursion, he meets 8 (18), and now there are one too many Mickeys on
the colony mission. Two Mickeys isn’t the only secret being kept from
the higher-ups on this space endeavor however, with a trail of missing
and un-uploaded memories fostering distrust in the back of 7’s (or 17’s)
mind.
The Nickel Boys
From Pulitzer-Prize winning author Colson Whitehead comes The
Nickel Boys, a story about two boys trying to survive the
horrors of a juvenile reform school. Although the film has not yet been
released on DVD, be sure to read the book, as well as Whitehead’s other
critically-acclaimed novels, so you’ll be ready when it is!
It Ends with Us
With a collection of some of the most misleading trailers ever
conceived, Colleen
Hoover’s It Ends With Us is a deceptively thrilling story. With a
scattering of flower petals on the book cover, and a matching meet-cute
in a flower store, Lily Bloom’s story resembles a heart-soothing
romance. However, not all is moonlight and roses. When a former lover
resurfaces, she is forced to reevaluate where she stands, and make the
best choice for her future—with or without her abusive husband or the
blast from her past. Read the book, and then see how closely the
movie
mirrors the story!
If these all sound as interesting to you as they do to me, you may be
excited to learn that all but one of them have both film and book
versions at the library! Having a copy of Wicked would be nice,
but what if the colossal differences between the film and the four
separate source materials continue to haunt you? No worries, you can
always return a copy taken out at the library and leave those unsettling
details on the shelves.
-Asha, Ewing Branch
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