Red Dog

Review By Brendan Paholski

Red Dog (the book)

Red Dog covers the life story of a Red Cloud Kelpie , in Western Australia between 1971 and 1979. When the story opens, his owners are Jack and Maureen Collins. At a barbecue Tally Ho (his original name in the story) doesn’t return to his owners , and he goes away.

John becomes his new owner. Red Dog and the men from the Hamersley Iron Transport section get to know each other after John the driver adopts him. John becomes the only person to whom Red Dog truly belongs. As Dampier grows, more people begin to befriend Red Dog. Nancy and Patsy are two characters who come into the story, as a result of one of them noticing that Red Dog has been shot. Nancy calls John, and he and his friends decide to stop work so they can save Red Dog. In the finale to part one, John has an accident while riding on his motorbike.

Part two of the book sees Red Dog looking for John. His journey takes him to a caravan park where Nancy has Red Cat. Red Dog and Red Cat do not initially get on well. The caravan park has a “no dogs” policy, so when Red Dog stays with Nancy, the park’s caretakers, the Cribbages, decide to kick Nancy out. The rest of the town objects to this. The last journey tells of Red Dog’s untimely end .

The book is of an episodic nature (as it surely must be), but hangs together well. Occasionally the dialogue is a little awkward, where some conversations/expressions seem to lack verisimilitude.

The book also includes a number of Australian terms in a glossary.However, describing someone as a dag doesn’t make them “revolting”, as this list would have it, but merely quirky or eccentric. Have a look at the list and have a good chuckle.

Red Dog (the film)

The film opens when a truck driver on long-haul delivery walks into a bar. Instead of the convivial atmosphere one might expect, he encounters gloom, as Red Dog (played by Koko) has been poisoned. The entire Pilbara region knows the dog, and is deeply upset at his situation. The worried expression of the publican)Noah Taylor) says it all. Red Dog may not make it through the night.

In the course of the next few hours, people flock to the bar to find out the prognosis and the hound's situation. All have tales to tell about the dog to the truckie (Luke Ford) about their relationship with the dog.Red Dog has clearly had a busy life, and as the narrative torch is passed around the bar, various events in Red Dog's life are recreated.

This is a well told tale, albeit of an episodic nature. The direction ( by Kriv Stenders) is exceptionally good, and the cinematography of the Pilbara region is not be understated.

The other remarkable thing about the movie is the soundtrack: songs from the Seventies (the story is based on events from 1971 to 1979) including Way Out West (The Dingoes), Bom Bom (Daddy Cool) , Stumblin’ in (Suzi Quatro / Smokie) and Rose Tattoo’s We Can’t Be Beaten truly make the story .

The film has some delightfully quirky scenes (betting on how fast Red Dog eats a can of dog food), and manages to synthesize pathos with humour at precisely the right pace.

By the way, check out Koko’s screentest.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Su66nlzKC0

Comparing book and film

When he was in Karatha in 1998 for a literary dinner, Louis de Bernieres discovered the statue of Red Dog outside Dampier. Intrigued, he set about researching the story. The result was the book Red Dog, published in 2001. The film found its star (Koko) in 2009.

De Bernieres took parts of the real story and dressed them up a little to make what would have been a series of random tales a cohesive story. Thus the film achieves this as well, albeit with a few subtle changes. John (a part-Maori in the book ) becomes an American in the film. The film also uses a well-worn technique (a stranger comes to town), to retell part of Red Dog's tale.

Both book and film suffer from an overuse of cliche, whether in dialogue or in action (the final Red Dog/Red cat fight is a prime example in the film) and some readers will find some odd expressions and sentence structure in the book. In the film, there is definitely tension between the real and the "hyper-real" in the dialogue.

Some episodes from the book are excised from the film , but those which are included are inspired, including any involving the Cribbages.

Overall, Red Dog's story probably works better as a film, where there is more scope for a true but "tall"story.

Twilight

By Ash Shaw

- Book       

- Movie

Genre: Young Adult/Romance/Fantasy

Age Group: It is suitable for people 13 years and over, but is probably aimed more at females.

Book Review

Stephanie Meyer’s Twilight, book number 1 of 4, is a story about a young girl named Isabella Swan who falls in love with a vampire named Edward Cullen. The first instalment in the series shows the hurdles both Edward and Bella have to overcome in order for the two of them to be together. It is written in the viewpoint of Bella and switches between her internal monologue about Edward Cullen and his family and also her more awkward and self-conscious reactions to those around her. Meyer took a bold leap for her first novel by writing in the first person (Bella’s viewpoint), but she has definitely pulled it off. I was immediately drawn in because I felt more of a personal connection with the narrator and I felt this throughout the rest of the story. As a reader I was able to not only see, but also feel how self-conscious and awkward she is and if this was written in the third person I don’t think it would have the same effect on the reader and might detract from the story itself. Her characters, both main and otherwise, are all well-rounded and thought out and each has their own personality which adds more to the story. Overall, even though the romance side of the book is somewhat corny at times (as most romance novels are), Twilight is packed with enough drama and action to override this. Even those who are cynical about romance, especially between two teenagers, will be able to overlook the corny bits. It is suitable for people 13 years and over, but is probably aimed more at females.

Movie Review

The movie adaptation of Twilight does not differ too drastically from the book. All of the characters look just like they are described in the book, even if they are not what I had pictured in my mind. Bella (played by Kristin Stewart) is more sullen than the book describes, however, Stewart plays this character well and is able to capture every other emotion described in the book. Edward (played by Robert Pattinson) is the perfect match for Edward and he plays the part brilliantly. As the Cullen family are all vampires, they are supposed to pale, but in the movie their skin tones are a little too overboard. All of the big, dramatic scenes have been included in the movie and the special effects are believable for the most part. I thought they did a great job for the scene where Edward reveals to Bella why he cannot walk in the sunlight. My favourite scene is the one where Bella tells Edward that she knows what Edward is. It is full of tension and latches onto the people watching and pulls them into the movie and right there with Bella and Edward. This movie is definitely a must-see for those who like suspense, romance, drama and action all in one.

Comparison

It’s a very close decision between the two but the book definitely wins out over the movie, only by one star though. This is partly because there is always just that little bit of extra detail in the book and partly because I just enjoyed reading the book that little bit more than watching the movie. For a movie adaptation it is definitely the best by far that I have seen in the respect that have followed the book’s details and characters very closely, probably for the readers sake, which is another thing that I appreciated about it. They have thought of not just the people wanting to see the movie, but also of those that have previously read the book. I saw it twice at the movies because I am one of those people who pick apart movie adaptations if I love the book, so the first time I went I picked it to shreds and then I re-read the book. The second time I saw the movie I actually just watched it as a movie and not as an adaptation and it was then that I was able to fully appreciate it and recognise how much thought the creators put into it and how closely they have followed the book. I always think it’s best to do this if you are like me, a loyal bookie! 

Jane Eyre

Review By Brendan Paholski


Jane Eyre (The book)


Jane Eyre, by Charlotte Bronte, is the story of a penniless orphan's journey from childhood ostracism through to marriage and a career as a governess. When we first meet Jane, she is in the care of her resentful Aunt, Mrs Reed(I use the term "care" advisedly, as it usually abuse, both physical and mental, that she endures). After being locked in the "red room" as punishment, and seeing visions of her dead father in the room, Jane is sent to Lowood school.


Jane's situation is not improved at Lowood, where she is accused of being deceitful, and is publicly humiliated by Mr Brocklehurst for dropping her slate. Eventually she is cleared of any wrongdoing by her teacher, Miss Temple. She prospers at the school where she eventually becomes a teacher herself.


After eight years at Lowood school, Jane takes matters into her own hands and advertises herself as available for the role of governess. Ultimately she becomes governess at Thornfield Hall to Mr Rochester's child, Adele. The real story of Jane Eyre's life begins.


The novel is an excellent example of writing (and subject) which is ahead of its time. In our protagonist, we have a woman who, though reserved initially, is forthright in her opinions. Jane tells her own story as she sees it, and is an acute observer of people and situations within the household, as she often overhears gossip and tittletattle. She can often be found one room removed from social functions at Thornfield. The first-person perspective allows the reader to see Jane's vulnerabilities as well , and allows for the perfect unraveling of the tale.


The novel embraces many genres, being part romance, part Gothic (Jane's vision of her uncle, her dreams of children and the "fortune teller"), part coming-of-age and part autobiography (the death of Jane's friend Helen Burn mirrors Bronte's own experience, where two of her sisters died in childhood of pulmonary tuberculosis). It remains a favourite among readers.





Jane Eyre (the 2011 film)



Since 1915, there have been sixteen film adaptations, and ten television adaptations of his classic story. (including I walked with a Zombie, a 1946 movie loosely based on the novel). The latest movie version (2011) stars Mia Wasikkowska and Michael Fassbend in the the principal roles, and features most of what you expect from such a retelling (dark interiors, nast weather and some cruelty early in the screenplay).


The most remarkable aspect of this version is its structure: it dispenses with a linear retelling, opting instead to begin proceedings with Jane's flight from Thornfield. Thus the mystery is able to continue, as she is ushered into the household of St John Rivers, and reveals her name to be Jane Eliot to all who question her.


The film seems to have the right balance in terms of the main actors and Dame Judi Dench is perfect as Mrs Fairfax. As the younger Jane, Amelia Clarkson is excellent. All the exterior locations create a spectacular backdrop for the retelling of such a novel. The interior shots are also suitably gloomy.


Comparing book and film


This is always difficult. Any movie interpretation of a well-known novel draws plenty of different opinions, and this one is no exception. As I've mentioned, many versions of this story exist on film
and each will have its good and bad points. Its easy, when reading the novel, to see why its become such fertile ground for those in film and television over the last one hundred years. It would provide a challenge to any screenwriter or producer to find something different to say from a well-worn tale.


In its 2011 incarnation, the story has been given a begining with a dramatic tableau, so that much of the story is then told backwards. Parts of this idea work wel, but I found that several jumps in the story seemed to jar, and were not explained clearly and assumed a reading of the text. (How was Jane liberated from Lowood? When she is permitted to attend school , how does that arise?)


My other major problem with this movie is that it all seems to end very abruptly. When the film ended, I found myself wondering " What happened?" because the entire denouement seemed to happen so quickly. It was as if the entire cast and crew couldn't wait to get out of there.


I was left wondering whether Gary Fukunaga (director) or Moira Buffini (screenwriter) had read the book that closely. I'm not sure that this would rate among the best interpretations of the novel on screen.