Written by Sara Alnashi
Film Adaptation focuses on films based on literary works, exploring how stories evolve when translated from page to screen. From cinema’s earliest days, filmmakers have drawn on literary, theatrical, and cultural sources for inspiration. In recent years, the critical study of adaptation has expanded significantly—moving beyond a narrow focus on fidelity to the source material. It now raises productive questions about the complex relationships between copy and original and considers broader cultural exchanges between cinema and the world at large.
Fiction always references the past—no story is entirely new. Adaptation is not merely a lens through which to examine cinema; it lies at the heart of understanding how film constructs meaning.
A Favorite Adaptation: An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge (Robert Enrico, 1962)
This Oscar-winning French short film, based on Ambrose Bierce’s 1890 short story, is one of the most famous and frequently anthologized tales in American literature. Set during the American Civil War, it follows Peyton Farquhar, a Southern planter condemned to death by Union soldiers for attempting to sabotage a railroad bridge. As he stands on the bridge, he envisions a dramatic escape—plunging into the river below and making a desperate journey home. The surreal narrative explores heightened perception during moments of crisis. In a devastating twist, we learn that Farquhar never escaped; the entire sequence was a final fantasy in the seconds before his death.
An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge Re-edited Version. Available on Youtube.
The film powerfully conveys the protagonist’s mental state through striking visuals and a masterfully designed soundscape. Ambient noise, foley effects, and a sparse but evocative score immerse the viewer in the sensory experience of imminent death, ecstatic escape, and yearning for life. Underwater scenes, the fall from the bridge, and the use of silence generate both suspense and poignancy. Composer Henri Lanoë employs drums, gentle guitar plucks, and folk-like vocals to evoke emotions ranging from anxiety to awe at the fragility of life.
Bierce’s prose captures heightened sensory awareness:
“He was now in full possession of his physical senses. They were, indeed, preternaturally keen and alert... He noted the prismatic colours in all the dewdrops upon a million blades of grass... A fish slid along beneath his eyes and he heard the rush of its body parting the water.”
Enrico brings this vividly to life with close-ups of nature—branches, dew, insects, a spider weaving its web—mirroring the intensity of Bierce’s language.
Roger Jacquet, who plays Farquhar, communicates the entire emotional arc without dialogue. His facial expressions—smiles, gasps, fleeting hopes—connect across language and time.
Other Standout Adaptations: L’Argent and Kaos
Two other films stood out for their striking cinematography, psychological complexity, and powerful social commentary.
L’Argent (1983), meaning Money, is Robert Bresson’s final film and loosely inspired by the first part of Tolstoy's novella The Forged Coupon. It begins with a seemingly harmless prank involving counterfeit money that quickly spirals into tragedy. Bresson’s minimalist style exposes how money dehumanizes individuals and corrupts society. One late scene—suggested, not shown—uses a barking dog, flickering light, and shadows to evoke a murder. The restraint amplifies horror and emotional impact, showing how less can be more in visual storytelling.
L'Argent (1983) Bresson - Ending
In the concluding scene of Robert Bresson's L'Argent, Yvon, the protagonist, is arrested and escorted out of a restaurant. The crowd, initially focused on him, then gazes blankly at the empty space where he once stood, as if his removal holds no significance. This final shot—marked by the onlookers' indifference to Yvon’s fate—serves as a powerful commentary on the film’s themes: the corrupting influence of money and the dehumanizing effects of modern society.
Kaos (1984), directed by Paolo and Vittorio Taviani, adapts four short stories by Luigi Pirandello, framed by a prologue and epilogue. Set in 19th-century Sicily, the film delves into themes of family, superstition, identity, and isolation. Its lyrical visuals and deep humanity render Pirandello’s world with reverence and emotional depth.
Kaos (1984) - Trailer
Both films exemplify adaptation as not merely translation, but transformation—infused with artistic integrity and cultural sensitivity.
A Disappointing Adaptation: The Lost Honour of Katharina Blum (1975)
This West German political drama, directed by Volker Schlöndorff and Margarethe von Trotta, adapts Heinrich Böll’s 1974 novel of the same name. It explores how violence emerges and escalates amid media sensationalism and authoritarian overreach during the political unrest of 1970s West Germany.
The story follows Katharina Blum, a reserved housekeeper whose life unravels after she spends the night with a man later revealed to be a fugitive. Subjected to tabloid headlines and intense interrogation, she becomes a victim of both media and state control.
Böll’s novel is structured like a confidential report, narrated in the first-person plural—a voice that suggests moral distance and investigative rigor. This contrasts with the fictional tabloid Die Zeitung, modeled on Bild-Zeitung, which represents vulgar journalism.
The film, however, flattens the novel’s complexity. While Böll critiques all parties—media, police, public—the adaptation focuses almost exclusively on demonizing the press, losing the source’s narrative balance and nuance. A more effective adaptation would have preserved the novel’s ironic, multi-perspective tone.
The Lost Honour of Katharina Blum - Trailer
Book talk: The Lost Honor of Katharina Blum by Heinrich Böll (1001 - books) by Silje
