Have you realised how most bookstores bring a sense of warmth that is rare? Think about all the times you entered one and almost felt how you're in the company of voices of gifted authors, visual treats of brilliant illustrators who colour your memories, characters that inspire you to become better and so on. Books just like people have the tendency to upgrade themselves over time and they leave you with something new every time you revisit them, almost like rekindling a relationship. World Book Day is celebrated on April 23 and just like Mother's Day or Women's Day, this is another day that actually doesn't need one specific day of celebration. If you love reading then you celebrate the existence of books no matter what day it may be.
While book adaptations have been common for Broadway shows to films, there are only a handful of films that capture the essence of book-reading, the process of bookmaking, the impact a fictional tale can have on our lives and such other aspects. As an avid reader and a cinephile, I pick a few special cinematic moments that capture the delight of being in the company of scriptures and journals full of biblichor (smell that belongs to old books), discovering their wisdom and above all taking them as one story at a time.
Belle - The Disney Princess Who Preaches Books Over Boys!
Among all the Disney princesses, The Beauty and the Beast's female lead, Belle stands out with her compassionate personality and one of the reasons for that is surely the fact that she's an avid reader. She's exposed to ideas beyond the conventional and hence finds it in herself to understand and love 'Beast'. The film adapted from Jeanne-Marie Leprince de Beaumont's 18th-century fairytale opens with a sequence that shows Belle (Emma Watson) on her way to return a book. On the way, she encounters Gaston (Luke Evans) whose endless attempts to charm her once again go in vain as she ditches him over her love for books. In yet another scene from the film, Belle is filled with joy after Beast introduces her to his massive library. Only a true book lover could echo those feelings.
The Beauty Of Bookmaking in Little Women
Greta Gerwig gives the process of publishing and bookmaking. a brilliant metaphor of birthing a child in Little Women. Saoirse Ronan's Jo March eagerly watches as her 'baby' (book) undergoes the processes of binding and getting glued together with a hardcover and eventually lands in her hands fresh of the press. For writers, authors, publishers, it indeed must be a special moment to reach the final stage and hold that first copy of their work. This scene has been shot so beautifully that it will certainly bring a feeling of extreme fondness the next time you hold a book after watching it.
Of Book Clubs and Life Lessons in Dead Poets Society
In Peter Weir's Dead Poets Society, a group of boys discover freedom, passion and the courage to go beyond the conventional to chase their dreams after being exposed to literature that speaks to them. They regroup and restart a club originally attended by their English professor John Keating (Robin Williams) who inspires them to break the rut that their elite school thrusts on them. At a secret location outside their conservative school campus, the boys read poetry and verse. One of the film's literary highlights is the recitation of American poet Walt Whitman's 'O Captain! my Captain!' piece from his Leaves of Grass is a poetry collection published in 1855. Literature can impact our lives in ways we don't realise and this film is a great example of that.
Discount Books Vs First Edition Copies - You've Got Mail
At the start I mentioned how bookstores can bring warmth and I bet if you have watched You've Got Mail, you have probably dreamt of stepping into Kathleen Kelly's (Meg Ryan) quaint The Shop Around the Corner to attend a 'Storybook lady' session. While that kind of book stores still exist in our vicinity, there's no doubt that the Fox books kind of chains has taken over the world with their 'discount books and coffees'. Apart from the film's central romance, the Nora Ephron directorial put us in a true blue reader dilemma over our book purchasing habits. While Kelly's personal service clubbed with the shop's charming persona is a booklover's dream, there' no denying that we all want something lighter on the pocket. Is book reading a luxury or a necessity? Having remained conflicted over The Shop Around the Corner Vs Fox Books debate, I realise that many of us may actually end up spending on both for their distinct services.
Author- Reader Relationship - The Fault In Our Stars
A movie that was adapted from a book and is a tragic love story at its fore in one of its subplots ably showcases an author-reader relationship in. its truest form. Shailene Woodley's Hazel is obsessed with novelist Peter Van Houten's book but isn't satisfied with its ending. Like several readers do, Hazel hopes to have a meet and greet with the author to ask him all the questions he left unanswered in his book. Being a cancer-afflicted teen, she's hoping to find her answers before her untimely death. In a telling scene, she finally does meet Peter performed by Willem Dafoe, only to have her expectations all crashed thanks to his impolite behaviour. It's funny how a work of fiction for an author who makes his living with it can mean so much more to a reader. The meaning and interpretation of a book changes from reader to reader and at times, it can hardly come close to what the author intended it to be. World Book and Copyright Day 2020: Interesting Facts About Books For All Bibliophiles.
These films in interesting ways comment on how books have an impact on those involved. For authors they are special in different ways, be it as a freeing experience for letting out their emotions or a. physical manifestation of their intelligence and creativity. For readers they may a form of entertainment, a learning experience, a means to escape into worlds they may never experience. Know any other films that celebrated the world of books and reading them in special ways? Do drop your suggestions in comments below.
(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Apr 23, 2020 01:47 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).