The Road
Posted by Rupert on January 26, 2009
I am in the library of Bucharest University — where I am under orders to not answer my phone or talk above a whisper, in other words the perfect working environment — and I came across a room full of old newspapers. On my left is a wall with neatly stacked folders of last years newspapers. I can see Le Figaro, Le Monde, plenty of Romanian newspapers (Prezent, Cotidianul, Capital, Contemperanul, Dilema) and just one English language publication: the International Herald Tribune (IHT).
Even though I have lots of things to do, and I really should know better, I can’t resist a quick browse and so I take down the folder for the IHT dated May 2008. I’m not looking for anything in particular, just procrastinating, waiting for my laptop to start up (a great excuse I often use on myself when trying to postpone work). Their headlines and cover shots are still very fresh and interesting (e.g. “Qaeda’a woman warrior” and “Russian jet shot down Georgian spy drone”) and it would be great to have the time to read through this stuff properly one day.
And then something grabs me; a review of a film called The Road. Actually it’s not a review, it’s a description of the making of the film by a journalist on location, with a great photo of what looks like homeless people.
I should explain. The Road is a novel I read last year which really blew me away, written by Cormac McCarthy who is famous for No Country for Old Men. The Road is about a journey across a wasteland where, in the words of the IHT reviewer, “The sky is gray, the rivers are black and color is just a memory….The landscape is covered in ash…The cities are blasted and abandoned…The roads are covered with corpses.”
Pretty depressing stuff you may think, but somehow the spartan relationship between the father and son (some of the very few survivors of the un-named holocaust which has destroyed the planet) is both moving and inspiring. And McCarthy’s language is minimalistic and beautiful, “almost biblical” says the reviewer. But I am sure this is a book that you either love or hate and I can quite understand that some people find it a real bore.
But I had no idea they had made a film about it, but then again I am living in Romania so why would I hear about interesting new films? All we get here are Hollywood blockbusters and the odd local productions. But “absence makes the heart grow stronger” and the lack of decent films makes me want to see them more, which I guess is good in that I will now try and find a DVD of The Road.
And it sounds like a good film, at least from the article I am reading by Charles McGrath. The main role is played by Viggo Mortensen, hero of the Lord of the Rings yarn, and the boy is played by Kodo Smit-McPhee, an “11 year old Australian who bowled everyone over when he tested for the part”
Rupert Wolfe Murray, Jan 09
3 Responses to “The Road”
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January 26th, 2009 at 15:00
Hi Rupert
The film is scheduled to be released sometime in 2009. No wonder you haven’t heard of it yet. The last time I checked film news and info was still available to us here in Romania
Cheers
Gelu
August 28th, 2009 at 22:21
Am o problema majora cu fraza asta
But I had no idea they had made a film about it, but then again I am living in Romania so why would I hear about interesting new films?
O sa auzi pentru ca romanii sunt disperati sa nu iasa in minus din nici o comparatie cu nimeni. Sunt satula pana peste cap de reflexul romanesc de autoflagelare si de complexele de inferioritate, acolo unde nu sunt prezente alea de Romania e cea mai extraordinara.
Incearca sa traiesti in SUA sa vezi ce o sa te miri atunci in mod autentic de cate lucruri nu se vor auzi sau vedea vreodata desi ar merita.
August 29th, 2009 at 11:27
Dear A, I take your point and realise that living in Romania is better than living in most places in USA
But I have a problem with this phrase of yours:
O sa auzi pentru ca romanii sunt disperati sa nu iasa in minus din nici o comparatie cu nimeni.
With this attitude you are setting yourself up for continual disappointment. Romania will usually be negatively compared to other places, as are most places. I am from UK and Brits are very rude about everywhere, especially the USA. This is what people do.
I think the trick is to learn to live with criticism, or to ignore it as irrelevant.