Moderato Cantabile
Compare Marguerite Duras’ novel Moderato Cantabile, with Peter Brook’s version of the film. Which, in your view, is more successful? Why?
Moderato Cantabile tells the story of a bored young wife of a wealthy industrial owner who depends on the only light in her life, her young son. Anne Desbarede the central protagonist rushes to the scene of a crime during one of her son’s piano lesson to find a young woman dead in a neighbouring cafe. This is where she encounters the other main protagonist Chauvin, an ex-worker at her husband’s factory who has also witnessed the murder. The troubled woman increasingly identifies herself with the murder victim and quickly becomes obsessed with Chauvin. The couple are apparently reconstructing the murder story, however really it is their own story, a story of a woman discovering herself and a man desiring to kill his lover.
I find it difficult to answer the question of whether the film or the novel was more successful because although there are differences in the film I found the mood and general atmosphere to be almost identical. For this reason I intend to argue for both sides, as I have experienced good and bad points within the two works. When we watch a movie or read a novel we have particular expectations of format. The introduction of characters, plot development and a certain outcome are the usual conventions that permit us a superior perspective on the narrative. However from my reading and viewing of Moderato Cantabile I have discovered that it goes against these formal conventions and is filled with symbols and metaphors. Studying it is difficult, as one must use intuition and go on a hunch, see through the allusion and try and understand what is being suggested and intimated to us. In comparison to formal conventions, it makes it difficult for the reader or viewer to achieve this vantage point. Their notable absence in both of the works compels the viewer or reader to discover other ways of connecting to the
Moderato Cantabile tells the story of a bored young wife of a wealthy industrial owner who depends on the only light in her life, her young son. Anne Desbarede the central protagonist rushes to the scene of a crime during one of her son’s piano lesson to find a young woman dead in a neighbouring cafe. This is where she encounters the other main protagonist Chauvin, an ex-worker at her husband’s factory who has also witnessed the murder. The troubled woman increasingly identifies herself with the murder victim and quickly becomes obsessed with Chauvin. The couple are apparently reconstructing the murder story, however really it is their own story, a story of a woman discovering herself and a man desiring to kill his lover.
I find it difficult to answer the question of whether the film or the novel was more successful because although there are differences in the film I found the mood and general atmosphere to be almost identical. For this reason I intend to argue for both sides, as I have experienced good and bad points within the two works. When we watch a movie or read a novel we have particular expectations of format. The introduction of characters, plot development and a certain outcome are the usual conventions that permit us a superior perspective on the narrative. However from my reading and viewing of Moderato Cantabile I have discovered that it goes against these formal conventions and is filled with symbols and metaphors. Studying it is difficult, as one must use intuition and go on a hunch, see through the allusion and try and understand what is being suggested and intimated to us. In comparison to formal conventions, it makes it difficult for the reader or viewer to achieve this vantage point. Their notable absence in both of the works compels the viewer or reader to discover other ways of connecting to the
Bibliography: Duras, Marguerite (1958/1980). Moderato Cantabile. Paris: Les Editions De Minuit. Lecture notes taken in class. MIT Media Laboratory, (Online), available at: http://xenia.media.mit.edu/~bersj/Movie/DurasHMAetMC.html (Accessed on April 16th 2011)