Hightower 1
Donald Hightower
Professor Morris
Film as Literature 2053
15 April 2016
The Elegance of a Hedgehog
In the book The Elegance of a Hedgehog written by Muriel Barbery she reveals her two main characters, which are highly philosophical with a touch of intellect that keeps the reader on a journey of self-discovery. The film adaptation by Mona Achache is somewhat equally entertaining and does a great job translating the aesthetics of the literary work. In this analytical essay I will compare the way in which the book translates to the film version of the story. In both the film and the book versions the story takes place in Paris. The two main characters Renee Michel and Paloma on the surface seem so opposite from one another and they
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In the beginning of the film she is seen filming with a camcorder. She gives the audience a front row narrated seat of her family?s pretentious life. In the book narration she gives some of the details about her thought processes and the way she interacts with others among her school peer group; this description was left out of the movie adaptation. In the book Paloma expresses ? I try to scale back my performance at school, but even so I always come first? (Barbery 23). There are other examples where the film adaptation of the book excluded many important details when translated from book to film adaptation. In the profound thought text in the book we listen to Polama describe the futile existence of her family using the mocking words ? life has meaning and we grown ups know what it is ? is the universal lie that everyone is supposed to believe? (Barbery 22). In the film she describes the existence of her family by voice narration while filming them during their daily routines. Her sister is obsessed with her looks and boys her mother is hooked on antidepressants, watering expensive plants while pretending to be happy, her father is a government official career man and for herself she is contemplating suicide just to get away from it all. In her opinion the lives of her family members aren?t any more important than gold fish living, eating and dying in a