Quiet American in Book And Film
Although Fowlair, the narrator of Graham Greene's The Quiet American, refers to Phuong as "invisible like peace," (29) Australian filmmaker Phillip Noyce's 2002 film of the same name begins by displaying Phuong's face in the midst of a flame -- or more to the point -- a passionate, raging fire that explodes out of a home, tearing down its walls and roof. Ironically, Greene's Fowlair quips, "One always spoke of her…in the third person as though she were not there" (29). But for Noyce's Fowlair, it would seem she is very much there. American Joseph L. Mankiewicz's 1958 film, however, begins and ends without Phuong. She is spoken of in the beginning, and in the end rejects the British correspondent. Both films alter the text to form their own narrations. The novel, however, conveys a complexity and depth not found in either film. This paper will analyze the challenges posed by adaptation, compare and contrast the three versions of The Quiet American, and show how both films communicate to audiences conversant with the original.
The challenges posed by adaptation can best be seen in the character of Fowlair. Fowlair is played by Michael Caine, in Phillip Noyce's adaptation, and Caine gives Fowlair an air that is slightly more dramatic than Greene's. Caine's voice over narration begins the film by stating that he has fallen in love with Vietnam, and that in Vietnam you can get anything in exchange for your soul.
Greene's Fowlair, however, is of a different mold -- hardly so theatrical, significantly more indifferent -- though still a character who talks of love. Yet Greene's Fowlair is not so much in love with a place -- or even with a woman: the novel is not called Phuong; nor is it called Vietnam. It is called The Quiet American, and it is Pyle (the American) that draws the story out of Fowlair -- it his death that makes Fowlair reflect upon the events that brought Fowlair and Pyle together; and even if they do share a love for the same woman -- it is Fowlair's love of that which he himself lacks -- and which Pyle seems to possess: innocence, interest, sincerity,...
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