The so-called Inkworld trilogy (which I have not read, yet) was originally written in German, by Cornelia Funke. Her first novel to be translated into English was Herr der Diebe [1], which I also have not yet read. She was discovered by Barry Cunningham (the same fellow that discovered J. K. Rowling) after an 11-year-old bilingual girl wrote to him to ask why her favorite author wasn't available in English.[2] Inkheart kicked off her second series to be translated into English.
My verdict: Inkheart definitely is an interesting story and had a lot of potential. I just felt like the way the film delivered it was a little underwhelming. The whole thing comes across as rather whimsical, in spite of the terrible events that take place and the evil characters who perpetrate them. And the acting tends towards the cheesy side.[3] (But then what movie starring Bredan Frasier doesn't?) I can forgive this, though, since the film is obviously geared toward children. Also, the film does have some spectacular cinematography. The film was engaging enough that I'd be willing to watch the sequel when it comes out. I may even get around to reading the books, someday.
Notes:
[1] Literally "Lord of Thieves" but published in English as The Thief Lord.
[2] See http://www.encyclopedia.com/topic/Cornelia Funke.aspx.
[3] They never explain why the girl has a British accent while her father (and mother?) have American accents. That's either poor casting, poor acting, or poor script writing.
Image attributions:
Ink Bottle is by Constance Wiebrands, available at http://www.flickr.com/photos/cwiebrands/3798708163/.
My verdict: Inkheart definitely is an interesting story and had a lot of potential. I just felt like the way the film delivered it was a little underwhelming. The whole thing comes across as rather whimsical, in spite of the terrible events that take place and the evil characters who perpetrate them. And the acting tends towards the cheesy side.[3] (But then what movie starring Bredan Frasier doesn't?) I can forgive this, though, since the film is obviously geared toward children. Also, the film does have some spectacular cinematography. The film was engaging enough that I'd be willing to watch the sequel when it comes out. I may even get around to reading the books, someday.
Notes:
[1] Literally "Lord of Thieves" but published in English as The Thief Lord.
[2] See http://www.encyclopedia.com/topic/Cornelia Funke.aspx.
[3] They never explain why the girl has a British accent while her father (and mother?) have American accents. That's either poor casting, poor acting, or poor script writing.
Image attributions:
Ink Bottle is by Constance Wiebrands, available at http://www.flickr.com/photos/cwiebrands/3798708163/.
The girl was raised in Europe, so she learned British English. The only English programs on TV would have been British too. So I didn't find her accent problematic.
ReplyDeleteThe eccentric aunt was my favorite in the movie.
That wasn't clear to me from the movie. Besides, I know several expatriates and none of them have British accents—they have the same accents as their parents (i.e. American).
ReplyDeleteOh well, it was only a possible explanation.
ReplyDelete