A review by Brooks Rich
I usually don't like when one of my favorite books is adapted to film. It generally never works and I am often left pissed off and frustrated. Usually, big important moments are cut out in translation, and sometimes, the film adaptation goes so wildly off its source material, it ruins everything. Ahem……… The Turning.
(Two of the most scathing reviews I'm posted here are adaptations of books I love. Here are the links if you missed them:
https://www.cinemabasementblog.com/2019/09/the-goldfinch.html
https://www.cinemabasementblog.com/2020/01/the-turning.html )
Today we discuss a film I think does its source material justice, and while I recommend you read the book first to experience the story that way, this is a fine film and one that has been pretty much forgotten due to it being released as a TV movie in 2001. Also, let’s be honest here, the early to mid-2000s' was a rough time in the film industry. The Lord of the Rings trilogy was the big dog and comic book movies were slowly crawling out of the doldrums. Tough times.
Snow in August is set in 1947 Brooklyn. Eleven-year-old Michael Devlin witnesses a hate crime against a Jewish shopkeeper and is threatened to silence by the guy who did it. Michael forms a friendship with Rabbi Judah Hirsch, who teaches the boy about the Jewish faith. But Michael's witness of the earlier hate crime causes more than just uncomfortable issues and he eventually must go to extreme lengths to protect himself and his mother.
I don't want to ruin the big surprise of this film as I'll also be spoiling the book. Snow In August as a film is not the greatest achievement in cinematic history. It was made as a TV movie back in 2001 so it's very workmann-like. The camera angles are routine and the blocking is standard. The strength of the film lies in the two main performances – Peter Tambakis as Michael and Stephen Rea as Hirsch. Rea brings a gentleness to the role of Hirsch and Tambakis is playing up the Brooklyn like no one's business. I half expect him to walk into a smokey Italian restaurant and tell Joe Pesci and Robert De Niro to go fuck themselves.
Tambakis and Rea have some great chemistry together and it's their interactions that carry the film, as well as the story. I, of course, think the book by Pete Hamill is much better – but Snow In August is a perfectly fine adaptation and one that some of you might really like if you track it down.
I usually don't like when one of my favorite books is adapted to film. It generally never works and I am often left pissed off and frustrated. Usually, big important moments are cut out in translation, and sometimes, the film adaptation goes so wildly off its source material, it ruins everything. Ahem……… The Turning.
(Two of the most scathing reviews I'm posted here are adaptations of books I love. Here are the links if you missed them:
https://www.cinemabasementblo
https://www.cinemabasementblog
Today we discuss a film I think does its source material justice, and while I recommend you read the book first to experience the story that way, this is a fine film and one that has been pretty much forgotten due to it being released as a TV movie in 2001. Also, let’s be honest here, the early to mid-2000s' was a rough time in the film industry. The Lord of the Rings trilogy was the big dog and comic book movies were slowly crawling out of the doldrums. Tough times.
Snow in August is set in 1947 Brooklyn. Eleven-year-old Michael Devlin witnesses a hate crime against a Jewish shopkeeper and is threatened to silence by the guy who did it. Michael forms a friendship with Rabbi Judah Hirsch, who teaches the boy about the Jewish faith. But Michael's witness of the earlier hate crime causes more than just uncomfortable issues and he eventually must go to extreme lengths to protect himself and his mother.
I don't want to ruin the big surprise of this film as I'll also be spoiling the book. Snow In August as a film is not the greatest achievement in cinematic history. It was made as a TV movie back in 2001 so it's very workmann-like. The camera angles are routine and the blocking is standard. The strength of the film lies in the two main performances – Peter Tambakis as Michael and Stephen Rea as Hirsch. Rea brings a gentleness to the role of Hirsch and Tambakis is playing up the Brooklyn like no one's business. I half expect him to walk into a smokey Italian restaurant and tell Joe Pesci and Robert De Niro to go fuck themselves.
Tambakis and Rea have some great chemistry together and it's their interactions that carry the film, as well as the story. I, of course, think the book by Pete Hamill is much better – but Snow In August is a perfectly fine adaptation and one that some of you might really like if you track it down.
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