An unbalanced adaptation

I had a chance to see Goro Miyazaki's "Tales from Earthsea", the Japanese anime adaptation of Ursula K. Le Guin's Earthsea novels. I was expecting an adaption of one of the books, specifically, of the first book, "A Wizard of Earthsea", that had so captured my imagination when I was in Junior High School. This novel captured my attention from the very beginning, and I can still recall the cover, one which featured an earnest, copper-colored boy who was looking off into the distance. It had many poetic qualities, foremost among which was the slow and seductive pace that was predicated on meditation on the ways in which a person from such a humble background, a goat-herder, was able to move up in this world while coming to grips with himself. It spoke to the difficulties of adolscence and finding a place for oneself, and it spoke to me at a crucial moment of my life.

In this case, the film is not particularly true to the books. We have a film that perhaps draws inspiration from Le Guin's works, making use of characters and situations and of the archipelago that constitutes the world of Earthsea, but it also distorts and modifies it in significant ways. It is a deeply flawed work that doesn't draw from the plots that were developed by the author, and has none of the introspective, meditative nature of the original. We have instead a series of conflicts in a plot that is simplified, in which wizard will battle wizard while the protoge, the boy Erin, will step in to save the world. It seems very conventional and as such, distorts the subtlety of the orinal series, and the way in which it was revealed that it was the boy wizard, Ged, who was battling with himself all along. (A modicum of this conflict is reflected in Erin, as he wishes to reconcile with his shadow, but it is strictly secondary.)

The landscapes are beautiful, with visions of magnificent, dynamic cities teeming with life and with characters, as well as wild land, sea and airscapes that reflect the grace of the elements. It is wonderful to see the way in which the winds ripples across the fields of grass, or the way the clouds parade in a never-ending pageant across the skies, echoing the spires and towers of the city. It is undeniable that Studio Ghibli, that organization that has helped Hayao Miyazaki produce such wonderful and memorable films as "Spirited Away" and "Howl's Moving Castle", among others, counts with a wealth of talent. Furthermore, from what I was able to determine after viewing the bonus materials on the DVD, Hayao himself drew the initial drawing that was to provide the visual inspiration for the look and feel of this world. But that was all that he contributed.

This is a world that is pre-Industrial. As noted by the critic Charles Solomon, it has in many ways a Byzantine look, one populated by formidable stone fortresses with graceful spires and domes, where marble and rocks present a comforting facade even as we see a world that is afflicted by social scourges such as drug-addiction and slavery. This landscape furthermore recalls other elements of continuity, as does the Byzantine world in general, by allusions to the classical age, evident in the ruins of even older landmarks, such as graceful Roman aquaducts. It has a Mediterranean feel, the sea is featured prominently even though little of the action takes place there.

 

However, the people are not as I imagined them. The characters have been whitewashed, despite the fact that Le Guin had explicitely populated this world with people who did not have specifically European features. They were copper colored, as was Ged, the wizard who was to be the main character. There were people of the East, in the lands of Karg, who were more European in appearance, but they were also more warlike, less civilized and thus, less likely to live in bustling cities such as that which is featured in the film. The phenotype of the people and the message it conveyed with regards to the overturning of cultural stereotypes has itself been overturned and rendered conventional.

Also, the story is much too simplistic. It involves a quest by the Arch-mage, Ged, who encounters a fleeing boy, Erin (Aron), and together they continue on a journey to discover what is causing an imbalance in the world. This balance is an allusion to the underlying order, to the constituent spiritual but also physical forces that underlie the world. The balance is necessary, and it is part of an interplay between differing, dynamic, almost binary elements and experiences. It is part of what brings together light and darkness, shadow and reality and life and death. Without this interplay, and the balance that is necessary, the world loses meaning.

But the story does not follow the plotlines written by Le Guin. It is more of an adventure story, one in which everything leads up to the confrontation between the wizards. This confrontation will eventually be overshadowed by the play of loyalty of Erin, who will try to rescue Sparrowhawk with the help of the dragon-girl named Tenar, as they battle the evil wizard Cob, he of the androgynous appearance. However, it is frustrating to see how the beauty and the grace of Le Guin's plot has been shorn by this adaptation that draws little from the original material.

I can unerstand why Ms. Le Guin was so upset by this adaptation. She had originally authorized Hayao Miyazaki, the father, to adapt this work, after having denied him permission several decades ago. Back then, as she states, she knew little of the power of anime, and Hayao was just starting his career. In this case, she was hoping for a more meaningful adaptation, but recognized that an auteur such as Miyazaki needed to have some room to expand and adapt the material. She had delineated periods in which the artist could fill in the material, while hopefully conserving the contours of the original narrative.

Well, it turns out that the adaptation was not carried out by Hayao but by his son Goru, and it was a contentious process. Hayao himself expressed his misgivings, saying that he felt that his son was not yet prepared for this project. Thus, underlying the film was this conflict between father and son, and I thought that part of this conflict would provide a certain tension to the film. It would certainly make an appearnce in the film, as we see the character of Erin, the young prince, murder his competent and much-loved father, the king, in the first few minutes, an act that can't help but resonate with the conflict between the Miyakis.

And yet, the film is very unsatisfying. I disliked the plot simplification, and the idea that it all had to revolve around this duel between wizards. There was so much in the original novels of self-struggle, and trying to learn the lessons of restraint and control. This messages are present, it must be said, but only in pronouncements that seem to be pro forma, as Sparrowhawk counsels the young prince who has become his protoge. And, of course, the talisman of the sword that the prince carries with him also rings false. I don't remember it in the original series of books, and it seems artificial in this film, although one well recognizes the symbolism of swords and the way they serve to indicate a rite of passage.

I hope that eventually we will have a truer adaptation of Le Guin's works. This film has some wonderful landscapes, both urban as well as rural, and sunsets figure prominently throughout the epic. In fact, so prominently that one might be tempted to say that the film takes place at moments of eternal sunset or sunrise. The convention, then, was overused, and the choice of actors for the voiceovers was also somewhat infeliticous. The voice of Cheech Marin, known primarily for his comic talents, seems out of place in this film as the voice of one of the guards. However, my chief criticism lies in the fact that the plot has shifted to one that underscores the question of succession, of a protoge who emerges from the shadow of his father.

In this case, there is still much to be wished for this emergence.