Pakistanis angry over detentions in Times Sq. case Monday, May 24, 2010
ISLAMABAD – Relatives of three men detained by Pakistan for alleged links to the suspect in the attempted Times Square bombing say the men are innocent.
They
AFP - Thursday, August 6TAIPEI (AFP) - - Taiwan's Beijing-friendly government on Wednesday denied boycotting an Australian film festival amid a row over the e
BERLIN (Reuters) - Chancellor Angela Merkel suffered a double blow on Thursday as a senior party ally in east German
Minister seeks closure of anti-Berlusconi websites Wednesday, December 16, 2009
ROME (AFP) - – The Italian government moved Tuesday to close down Internet sites encouraging further violence against Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, who
By ELAINE KURTENBACH,AP Business Writer AP - Wednesday, March 18SHANGHAI - Asia's stock market rally seemed to be running out of steam Wednesday, despite an
My Profile
Top News
Reuters top ten news stories delivered to your inbox each day.
Subscribe
You are here:
Home
>
News
>
Entertainment
>
Article
Home
Business & Finance
News
U.S.
Politics
International
Technology
Entertainment
Film
Music
People
Television
Arts
Industry
Sports
Lifestyle
Oddly Enough
Health
Science
Special Coverage
Video
Pictures
Your View
The Great Debate
Blogs
Weather
Reader Feedback
Do More With Reuters
RSS
Widgets
Mobile
Podcasts
Newsletters
Your View
Make Reuters My Homepage
Partner Services
CareerBuilder
Affiliate Network
Professional Products
Support (Customer Zone)
Reuters Media
Financial Products
About Thomson Reuters
Movie remake for McCarthy's bleak novel "The Road"
Thu Sep 3, 2009 9:44am EDT
Email | Print |
Share
| Reprints | Single Page
[-]
Text
[+]
By Mike Collett-White
VENICE (Reuters) - Author Cormac McCarthy's haunting vision of a desolate, post-apocalyptic world in "The Road" has made it to the big screen in an equally bleak film, starring Viggo Mortensen as a father struggling to keep his son alive.
The movie, directed by Australia's John Hillcoat, seeks to recreate the barren, rain-drenched landscapes, anarchic violence, nagging hunger and overriding despair of the award-winning book.
Charlize Theron plays the boy's mother in flashback sequences and Robert Duvall is an aging wanderer roaming the abandoned roads of America.
Hillcoat believes the father-son relationship at the center of the story, and the fact that the boy eventually learns to trust others, means the book and film are in fact more optimistic than they may appear.
"He (McCarthy) explained to me that for him 'Blood Meridian' was very much about the worst in human nature and this book (The Road) for him is very much about the absolute best," Hillcoat told reporters at the Venice film festival, where his movie is in the main competition.
"I think he makes a very real argument for the father as a man who has got all these conflicts that we can all relate to, but at the end of the day it is the boy who takes that leap of faith.
"It's why I think it's ... for McCarthy the most hopeful novel he's ever done."
LOVE STORY
Mortensen, who is bearded, disheveled and caked in dirt throughout the action, believes the power of The Road lies in the love between a father and son.
"What drew me at first was the connection I felt being a father," he said.
"But you don't really have to be a parent. I mean everybody is a child of somebody and in the end it's a love story between two people.
"I think this is why McCarthy's book The Road has had more universal appeal than any other of his books ... because it's about something that everybody can understand everywhere.
"That concern -- what will happen to my child if I'm not around to help him or her? It's taken to an extreme where I know, and the audience knows, that if I'm gone he has no shelter, no food, no friends, no safety."
He praised Australian child actor Kodi Smit-McPhee, who described some of the physical challenges of playing the boy.
"There was (a) time when we had to wash some brains out of my hair, and guts, and the water was actually freezing. I don't know if you can imagine minus-a-lot water on your head." Continued...
View article on single page
Share:
Del.icio.us
Digg
Mixx
Yahoo!
Facebook
LinkedIn
Next Article:
Muslims can see Black Eyed Peas, Malaysia says
Also On Reuters
Blog: Ben Stein and the upper-middle-class parent
"No Impact Man" charts U.S. couple's climate fight
Commentary: Fresh thinking on the war on drugs?
More Entertainment News
Venice opens with sentimental Sicily drama
Muslims can see Black Eyed Peas, Malaysia says
Cate Blanchett injured onstage in "Streetcar"
Whitney Houston comeback album headed to No. 1
Madonna world tour breaks her own record
More Entertainment News...
Editor's Choice
Slideshow
A selection of our best photos from the past 24 hours. Slideshow
Most Popular on Reuters
Articles
Video
Japan's new first lady says rode UFO to Venus
Pfizer whistleblower's ordeal reaps big rewards
Dying Manson follower Atkins denied parole
Advert criticized over "young" partial nude model
Internet providers seek low broadband bar
Global recession ending: OECD
NASA tracks space junk headed toward space station
Hitmen kill 17 in Mexico clinic on U.S. border
Monster U.S. online jobs index soars in August
NASA tracks space junk headed toward space station
Most Popular Articles RSS Feed
Video
Venice film festival opens
A healthy dose of humidity
Hurricane Jimena slaps Mexico
U.S. takes aim at childhood obesity
World powers press Iran on talks
Volcano stirs, may blow soon
Melting men show global warming
Venice festival begins
Bloodshed in Afghanistan
Europe dims old-style lightbulbs
Most Popular Videos RSS Feed
Reuters.com:
Help and Contact Us |
Advertise With Us |
Mobile |
Newsletters |
RSS |
Labs |
Journalism Handbook |
Archive |
Site Index |
Video Index
Thomson Reuters Corporate:
Copyright |
Disclaimer |
Privacy |
Professional Products |
Professional Products Support |
About Thomson Reuters |
Careers
International Editions:
Africa |
Arabic |
Argentina |
Brazil |
Canada |
China |
France |
Germany |
India |
Italy |
Japan |
Latin America |
Mexico |
Russia |
Spain |
United Kingdom |
United States
Thomson Reuters is the world's largest international multimedia news agency, providing investing news, world news, business news, technology news, headline news, small business news, news alerts, personal finance, stock market, and mutual funds information available on Reuters.com, video, mobile, and interactive television platforms. Thomson Reuters journalists are subject to an Editorial Handbook which requires fair presentation and disclosure of relevant interests.
NYSE and AMEX quotes delayed by at least 20 minutes. Nasdaq delayed by at least 15 minutes. For a complete list of exchanges and delays, please click here.