Sonoko Differences Between Book And Movie

Mary Sow

The plot that leads to the revelation of the scandal in the newspaper and the suicide of the three protagonists is similar in both the novel and the film. However, there are visibly several differences between the film and the novel. Unlike the novel, where the author Junichiro Tanizaki takes his time to vividly express events, the film has a relatively shorter span to fit the same plot. However, it is the film whose scene seems to better capture the emotions of the audience.
The plot is beautifully filmed, with everything seemingly perfectly fashioned. Color and emotions that are expressed by the actors are replaced by vivid descriptions. For instance the expression, a beautiful blonde whose beauty is adorable replaces “the goddess”.
Although the film is limited in some aspects, the director included some items for insistence. The presence of a red piece of paper holding the poison powder to be taken by the three is intentionally used to emphasize the presence of poison in the room. The main protagonist, Sonoko, also uses a spectrum of emotion to widen the scoop of her character in order to measure up to the expectations of a following audience who have already read the book.
There other visible differences between the plots as expressed in the novel and the film.
In the build up to the scandal, Sonoko on page 107 states, “…So I found myself sinking deeper and deeper into the quicksand, and although I said to myself I had to escape, by this time I was helpless. I knew I was being used by Mitsuko and that all the while she was calling me her dead sister she was actually making a fool of me.” Visibly, Sonoko was in a dilemma not sure whether to proceed or not, but somehow seems to continue. Because the narrative by Sonoko is not available in the field, expressions such as the one above seem to have not been adequately represented in the
film.
Though at the beginning of the relationship between Mitsuko and Sonoko, Sonoko is deemed as the victim, by the time the story gets to the suicide the audience, both the reads and the viewers have no doubt that Sonoko, Kotaro, and Mitsuko are all victims and perpetrators at the same time.
Mitsuko begins as a decent woman who only decides to pose to be drawn by a woman while covering her nude body. She becomes a victim when Sonoko decides to pull down the sheet that was covering her body to reveal her perfect body. However, it is clear that pushing their lesbian relationship forward was an option that she, Mitsuko, had. On the other hand, Sonoko becomes the victim when she discovers her “lover” was in another relationship with a man. This had not been mentioned before and so it comes out as a ploy from Mitsuko. However, her failure to stop the relationship at that point and the decision to proceed even after the entry of another party, the boyfriend of Mitsuko, places her in a different light. Kotaro on the other hand, who is first viewed as a victim impotent husband that is losing a beautiful wife to a lesbian friend, loses the position of a victim when decides to join the pack. The events of the plot are vividly expressed both in the novel and in the film with a little difference in expression, while the plot is
maintained.
The novel best represents the events that precede the suicide. Junichiro Tanizaki vividly expresses the events in a superb way. After reading the novel it is obvious that the love triangle is such a complicated one. However, the same can be said when one is watching the film. While the author prolongs the plot to create suspense, the same was not achieved in the film and the view only manages to visualize the events and the tension created when the plot is closing.
In conclusion, it is obvious that Junichiro Tanizaki did an amazing piece of work in creating “Quicksand.” However, this does not tone down the amazing work complied by the Yasuzo Masumura. Although both achieved to tell the same story differently, certain aspects of each piece of work have ensured that whoever reads the novel will also enjoy the film.