Norwegian Wood Film

I just wanted to jump in on everyone’s discussion and offer my own opinion. Though I felt like the movie was well made in a technical aspect, I felt like the movie really failed to capture the spirit of the novel and what made it so special. The movie was a relatively faithful adaptation of the book, but almost to its detriment. While I know book to movie adaptations can be controversial (I’ve had my fair share of heartbreak in this regard), I found myself a little frustrated by the lack of artistic interpretation. The scenes being a perfect 1-to-1 recreation felt very mechanical to me, and again, failed to capture the spirit of what made the novel so special. If you haven't read the novel prior, it's unlikely the film would flow in a logical or smooth way. Personally, I would respect it more if the movie took more risks and had its own artistic interpretation, even if it wasn't the most faithful (Is that a hot take?).

That being said, I don’t think the movie was bad by any means. Like Sam said, I really enjoyed the soundtrack, and it definitely added a lot to the atmosphere and tone. Additionally, I felt the decision to add in Kazuki’s suicide was a bold choice. I can’t remember off the top of my head how much detail of the act itself was given in the novel, but I felt like the film did a great job at  handling the gravity of the situation. 

All in all, this was not a bad film by any means, but it didn’t hook me in the same way the novel did. Whether it was delight or disgust, I always walked away from the novel with such strong feelings towards the novel, while the movie left me feeling nothing. -Jayde