A Book A Week

A review of a book to film adaptation.

In his novel, World War Z, author Max Brooks created a telling of a zombie infested, post-apocalyptic world. Rather than a traditional narrative, Brooks told his tale as a collection of individual recollections of the ten-year war against zombies. When the film adaptation of the bestselling book was announced, I was excited to see the book brought to life, but wondered if such an adaptation was even possible. How could the filmmakers adapt a book with so many characters and such a large scope.

The answer . . . they don't. Rather than attempt to chorale Brooks's writing into the constraints of a film, the filmmakers use little more than the title and the idea of a zombie apocalypse in this "adaptation". With Brad Pitt playing a former UN employee who is called to jump back into his old lifestyle for the sake of his family, the filmmakers wisely choose to focus on a central character and his struggle to survive. I guess when you have Brad Pitt starring in your movie, you better use him!

The film opens as Pitt, accompanied by his wife(Mireille Enos), prepares to drive his daughters to school. On this drive, the family witnesses the zombie outbreak firsthand, narrowly escaping the danger of the streets. Desperate to safeguard his family from the attacks, he calls upon his old friend at the United Nations, and agrees to help search for the origin of the outbreak in exchange for his family's asylum. They are then flown to an ocean based command center, where Pitt learns of the apparent virus that causes people to turn to zombies. As the film progresses, we follow Pitt as he visits numerous places around the world, each affected by the outbreak.

World War Z is directed by Marc Forester (Finding Neverland, Quantum of Solace), who brings a fast pace and edgy tone to the story. It is very difficult to make a zombie seem threatening. Indeed, there were moments in this film where the zombies are almost laughable. But the filmmakers deftly find a way around that. By allowing the actors to play their characters straight and develop genuine emotional stakes, the threat of zombies becomes more urgent and frightening.

Before its release, World War Z was mired in production setbacks that included a massive rewrite and reshoot of it's third act. The result is an ending that foregoes the normal summer blockbuster conclusion of intense action and special effects. Rather, the film ends with an intimate, suspense laden scene that intelligently concludes the movie, while artfully and organically leaving the possibility for a sequel. Despite a complete departure from the source material, World War Z manages to remain smart, intriguing, and most importantly, entertaining.

Have you seen this film or read the book on which it is based? How do you think the two compare? What other film adaptations would you like to see reviewed?

Ever since the massive success of Stieg Larsson's Millennium Trilogy, translated to English from its original Swedish, there has been an increase in translated novels to the American marketplace. And while some of these foreign authors have really resonated with the American public, think Larsson and Jo Nesbo, others seem to have been lost in translation.

In the Healer, a novel by Finnish author Antti Tuomaninen, poet Tapani Lehtinen navigates a post-apocalyptic Helinski, in search of his missing wife, Johanna. Johanna is a journalist who works for a newspaper that is struggling to maintain its relevance in this strange new world. Immediately before here disappearance, she was investigating a serial killer known as "The Healer". The Healer is known for murdering prominent businessmen, politicians, and their families, all because of their involvement in pursuits that harm the environment. As Tapani studies Johanna's research into the murders, he realizes that she was close to discovering the identity of The Healer. Now he worries that she is pursuing this known serial killer, or worse, The Healer is pursuing her.

This post-apocalyptic world, as imagined by Tuomaninen, falls in line with the bleak views that most of these European authors write about. Society has failed, medicine and doctors are hard to come by, and the police have been made obsolete by a lack of government, money, technology, and manpower. Therefore, the recover of Johanna falls on the shoulders of her husband, Tapani. As he investigates further into her disappearance, he uncovers secrets from her past that threaten to unravel everything he thought he knew about the woman he loves.

Despite the promising premise, I felt that the author was simply going through the motions on this one. I enjoyed the fast pace and entertainment value of the story, but any deeper meaning is either nonexistent or lost in the translation from the original text. There is never enough backstory or emotional depth to make any of the characters worth rooting for. In the end, the motivation behind The Healer's killings is almost laughable. It seemed that the author was trying to make some kind of political statement that comes across as misplaced within the context of the novel. Are we really supposed to believe that with all the chaos and corruption taking place and threatening lives, a person has decided to protect the environment? In this world where infrastructure has failed and disease threatens to spread at plague like speed, it is far more plausible that The Healer would be more concerned with saving his own life, rather than taking others for some political statement. Despite these shortcomings, I have to admit that the novel kept my attention, and I read it easily over the course of an afternoon. While it is not the pinnacle of foreign writing, it is an entertaining read that displays the promise of reading some of these translated novels.

For more information, visit the author's website, Amazon, and GoodReads.