flicks
Friday, May 06, 2005
adaptation, 2002.
screenplay by charles and donald kaufman.
created around the book, _the orchid thief_, by susan orlean.
need to do more research to tease out fact and fiction. an interesting part of the film. and the themes of love, life. and elements of script writing.
characters:
donald: start to like him towards the end. very positive. gets the chicks. profound messages at the end.
charles: nicolas cage is just hard to watch. i don't like the way he looks at all.
susan: been watching a lot of meryl streep movies lately. she does this thing with her mouth - not quite a pursing of the lips, but you can tell that she's thinking of something she didn't think she'd be thinking about.
la roche: supposed to be the "character" that the intellectuals that susan hangs out with is tickled with and intrigued by. missing teeth b/c of the accident.
plot:
different times, stages.
charles kaufman in CA, was offered the opportunity to write the screenplay for the book. has a hard time with the process (wants to keep it simple. wants it to be just about flowers. he's rather neurotic). robert mckee screenwriting class, meet susan.
susan orlean in nyc. writer for the new yorker, becomes intrigued about the orchid thief. has never had a passion about anything, but passionate about seeing how others can feel so impassioned about things.
la roche in florida. the orchid thief. grew up collecting things (turtles, mirrors with his mother, tropical fish, etc.). married, accident which killed his mother, uncle, put his wife in a coma. she woke up, wanted a divorce (susan: gives her a new lease on life, having nearly died). hurricane wrecked the nursery, everything he had left. seminole indians wanted him to do a nursery for them.
book plot has it all ending with susan wanting to see the ghost orchid. and instead they get lost, and she's disappointed.
"reality" has her see it, get disappointed b/c it's just a flower. la roche tells her that it's coveted by seminole indians b/c of its hallucinogenic properties. sends her some (green powder, snorted like coke). she likes it, they talk for a long time.
in charles' attempt to find some inspiration to finish script, follows susan with donald's goading. trail her to florida, where she's obviously having an affair with la roche. and they do drugs together, have a nursery full of ghost orchids. find charles peeping. susan wants to kill them and everything goes downhill fr there (donald gets shot, then thrown out of the car in a MVA; la roche gets eaten by croc/alligator). but charles finishes the script. and the movie ends with a "in loving memory of..."
messages:
la roche: go through life trying to find your flower, or your pollinating insect. the person that you've adapted through the eons to be with, serve a purpose to each other without knowing how or why.
donald: to love - i own it, that feeling is mine. made a decision a long time ago to not let what other people think bother him. who/what you love defines you, not who loves you.
susan: plants adapt, have no control over it; people adapt, and it's almost shameful, something to hide
susan: the ghost orchid is everywhere - something imagined, desired, strived for. and ultimately temporary. either the search is unfruitful (the book), or reality is too real ("it's just a flower").
dvd: surprised it had no "extras" other than the filmographies of people.
context: rented fr library, and finally watched it. rented it in ronan, watched trailer, but didn't feel like it for some reason. watched it in small segments during the week while staying home sick from peds AI. alone on friday night, but it's a good change.
research:
oh...
there is no donald kaufman. that makes me feel better.
and the orchid thief is a best-selling novel. cool.
The first Ghost Orchid was discovered in Cuba in 1844 by a Belgian named Jean Jules Linden. Fifty years later, the same orchid species was found in Florida’s Fakahatchee Strand, as well as the Everglades and Big Cypress Swamp. Biologists believe seeds from ghost orchids and other tropical plants in South and Central America were carried across the ocean by air currents and migrating birds until they reached Florida. Within the U.S., the ghost orchid does not exist outside south Florida.
Aside from its rarity, the ghost orchid is unique in that it does not grow in soil, as do conventional plants. It is a species of leafless orchid that grows on trees. Exposed to the elements, the flat, green roots are no thicker than a pencil and wrap themselves around a tree.
Another unusual feature of the ghost orchid is that it does not have a stem or foliage, so when the plant is not in bloom, it consists solely of roots. Due to of its lack of foliage, the ghost orchid must use its roots for both water absorption and photosynthesis. Photosynthesis is a complex process in which plants manufacture their own food. This is done by converting carbon dioxide into organic material, which is reduced to carbohydrates. Natural sunlight provides the plant with energy to complete this process.
The ghost orchid blooms just once a year, typically in June, July and August. While the orchid is in bloom, Florida's largest moth, the giant sphinx, pollinates the flower. This moth is vital to the survival of the ghost orchid because it is believed to be the only insect with a proboscis long enough to pollinate the ghost orchid. The moth’s soda-straw proboscis is a perfect fit for the flower’s four-to six-inch spur-nectary, which is located at the end of the orchid’s bottom spur.
Since the ghost orchid's roots blend so well with the tree bark, the striking white flower looks as if it is suspended in midair. The roots of this orchid, as with all epiphytic orchids, are designed for survival. The outer surface is called the velamen, and it protects the inner root tissues from water loss. The velamen also aids with water and mineral uptake.
