The Painted Veil

I noticed on Monday that Saumerset Maugham's book has been turned into a movie and I could not wait even till the weekend to catch the show. I pushed Arun into it and we watched the movie last night. It was beautiful as it began with a haunting background score and the beautiful hills in China.

Unlike the book, it ran in flash backs and seemed pretty well narrated given the book deals with extremely complex emotions which are not so easy to express on camera, it may be easier to understand reading the book. I was immersed in the movie and could not help tracing scenes from the book.

To begin Kitty's (protagonist) parents and their relationship was briefly discussed in the book but they were pretty much in one shot of the entire film. I did not quite mind these abberations given the story was to be shown in two hours and the cast was doing a great job. But as the movie moved towards the second half, it almost seemed like for all the effort that Maugham had put in his writing to display the grey shades of life and the darkness of ones soul has been tattered. The change of heart has been so seamless and obvious that it just seems like a movie.

I particularly liked the book because it displays a gradual change in Kitty and does not display any remorse for what she did in the past. The movie reunites the couple but the book never expresses that. It just shows how they begin to get understanding of each other and possibly begin to empathise with each other.

The book seems far true a reflexion of the complex reactions of the human mind, the movie takes a bit of a moral standing. Hence everything that is dark has been justified and cleaned up towards the end. When you read a book you relate to it far more deep in your heart since most of us are not as righteous as we may want to be. More often than not we get swayed with emotions and often do things that are unacceptable but not necessarily wrong. They may be your own interpretation of how you want to lead your life and may not be very considerate towards another individual. Term it selfishness or self centredness or plainly acknowledge its presence.....

For all of you who have not read Maugham, well read it!