Sunday, January 13, 2008
Unit 10 -- A Dry White Season
The novel on which this film was based was an excellent read. It is never easy for a film to show every detail written into a novel, and this one is no exception. I wish the film had given more detail about Gordon's second son. The book tells us that he becomes involved with anti-apartheid activism just as his brother did. He took up the cause after Jonathan's death and carried it forward. In the film, we only catch a glimpse or two of this brother, and when we do, he is watching, wide-eyed, as events unfold. I believe it is important that the legacy of activism was passed from Jonathan to his brother, and that the brother carried on the work, making Jonathan's life have an even greater meaning.
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3 comments:
Great points, it also did not detail how the relationship of Ben and his wife carried on after the seperation. In a way, I thought of Susan agreeing with her husband without admiting it. I felt sorry for the daughter act of betrayal, she was under a lot of pressure, and confused. I saw of Ben's son as a hero who carried on his father's legacy of finding truth.
The second son does play a pivotal role. When he was killed, returning to South Africa from a rebel training camp, it drove his mother to suicide (in the book). That, in turn provoked Stanley, the "fixer," even further, and the whole situation heated up by about 100 degrees!
Nothing gets by you, Walt. Ought I read this book?
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