I mainly blog about translation & literature. So my five inspirational movies obviously revolve around that : translating, literature, writing, books.
Here they are :
La femme aux cinq éléphants
In this documentary, we discover Svetlana Geier, the German translator of Dostoïevsky. She has worked (among other titles) on five masterpieces of Dostoïevsky. These are her five elephants. In this film, we discover the slow & precise trade of this literary translator (she works with a musician to hear the sound of her sentences for instance), but we also enter into her destiny, which is intricately related to History (being a Russian native settled in Germany in the 40’s). I especially remember when she talks about the common roots between the words « text » and « textile », and while ironing some linen, she explains that her translation consists of smoothing out the texts, like she does on a textile.
The Name of the Rose
In this epic medieval movie, some monks are translators. You have a huge library, crazy librarians. It’s all about books actually. I really love watching this one again and again. Can’t get enought of it.
The Shining
Even though this movie is more about madness & terror, I quite like the character of Jack Nicholson, the writer who seeks his inspiration but is having a real hard time finding it. Sometimes, I feel a bit like him.
Bright Star
This is the most recent movie I saw about a poet. And I find that poetry is a subject that is not enought seen on the big screen (even in general). This movie was very delicate & touching, like the best of Keats’ poetry.
The Ninth Gate
In this movie, what I like the most is the atmosphere, and the whole mood we can discover in the ancient bookshops. I really love movies about old books. (In a totally different style, have you ever seen the series Black Books? I loved it too).
What about you, readers ? Any movie that has a special place in your heart or that you would like to recommend ?
Hi Lise,
I’m not much of a film buff, but Die Dame mit den 5 Elefanten is on my list of things to watch!
Hi Rachel,
Oh yes, do not hesitate. For a translator, it’s very very worth seeing! All the more if you work with German (which is not my case)
The Name of the Rose and The Shining are among my favorites. I’m a fan of Umberto Eco and Stanley Kubrick used to be my favorite director. I liked the Ninth Gate too. I already have Bright Star on my disc, but I haven’t watched it yet.
Glad to see we have similar tastes. If you like poetry & romance, Bright Star will please you 🙂 (seeing your 5 films, I guess it will)
check out my tomorrow’s post and you’ll see that your guess is probably right! 😀
Love the Shining and The Ninth Gate! I’m planning to watch Bright Star in theater and I’m looking forward to see Johnny Depp in new kinky role… 🙂
Hi there, thanks for this comment. In France, there are posters for the new Tim Burton (Dark Shadows) all over the place. JD as a « vampire », why not?
I loved reading Umberto Eco when I was in college. I was fascinated by the philosophy, theology, and linguistics of it because those were three subjects I was studying. I’ll have to watch the movie again. I’ll have to try the Gate movie.
Are you based in Paris? Maybe we can connect if I spend any time there this summer. I’ll have to read your blog to practice my French some more.
Yes, Julie, you are right, I did not speak of the wonderful & scholarly work of Umberto Eco but the film is really not only about crazy monks & librarians, for sure.
I’m in Montpellier, South of France right now, but I’ll move back to Paris some time this summer. Let’s keep in touch about this.
My tomorrow’s post will be in French if you want to practice 😉
Thanks for sharing these. The Five Elephants looks so interesting. I’m hoping I can track it down.
Hi Lise
Great list. I’ve been reading quite a bit about the Svetlana Geier documentary and can’t wait to watch it. I’m not sure if it’s out here in SA yet, but I’ll definitely keep an eye out for it.
Babette, Marie-Louise, yes, it might not be that easy to find but I think it should please anyone who’s in love with literature, language and great destinies.