Released again on June 25, <Incendies> is Denis Villeneuve's breakout film, known for creating beloved works such as the <Dune> series, <Arrival>, and <Sicario: City of the Assassins>. It received acclaim for its bold narrative and solid structure. Although it appears to be an original story reflecting global political tensions, it is actually based on a play. While adapting plays into films is common in the history of cinema, the number of adaptations has significantly decreased since the 2000s, when the number of works to adapt increased dramatically. Here are a few films from the 2000s that adapted original works, including <Incendies>.
<Incendies>
The reason it is difficult to recognize that <Incendies> is based on a play is primarily due to its title. The original title of this film, released in South Korea as <Incendies>, is ‘Incendies’, which means fire in French (Denis Villeneuve hails from Quebec, Canada, where French is spoken). The original play is titled 「Fire」. Although the title remains the same in the original language, the significant difference in titles between the film and the play can lead to confusion if one is not interested in either. Wajdi Mouawad, who wrote 「Fire」, was born in Lebanon but fled to Paris due to the Lebanese Civil War and later moved to Quebec due to residency issues. Naturally, he became interested in the Lebanese Civil War, which changed his life, and wrote several tragic stories set against the backdrop of war. 「Fire」 is inspired by the story of Souha Bechara, who was active in the resistance during the Lebanese Civil War. The publishing house, Jimanji Drama, published 「Fire」, 「Forest」, and 「Coastal Area」, which are part of Wajdi Mouawad's 'Tragedy Tetralogy'.
<The Father>
The 2021 film <The Father> is a rare case among the already uncommon 'film adaptations of plays' because the original playwright directed the film. Florian Zeller, who directed and wrote <The Father>, is a writer. He began writing plays and novels in the early 2000s and challenged himself as a film director with <The Father>, which adapted his play 「The Father」. Prior to this, he had only directed one TV documentary, but he received praise for perfectly framing his work. The original play won the prestigious 'Molière Award for Best Play' in France when it premiered, and the film also won the Academy Award for Best Actor and Adapted Screenplay. He immediately adapted another of his plays, 「Son」, into the film <The Son>. Unfortunately, the third part of the 'family trilogy', 「Mother」, has not yet been adapted into a film. Instead, he is currently working on a new original screenplay titled <The Bunker>. After the film's release, <The Father」 was also performed in South Korea, with actor Jeon Mu-song delivering a powerful performance as André. The publishing house Jimanji Drama has published Zeller's plays 「Son」, 「Father」, 「Mother」, and 「Other」.
<Moonlight>
Is the original of <Moonlight> a play? One cannot help but be surprised because the original of <Moonlight> has never been publicly released. Directed by Barry Jenkins, <Moonlight> is adapted from an unpublished play written by Tarell Alvin McCraney. It may seem strange that an unpublished play could be the original, but the title of the original, 「In Moonlight Black Boys Look Blue」, serves as the film's most important motif and reflects McCraney's life, making it undeniable that without the play, the film <Moonlight> could not have been born. The way this work reached Barry Jenkins is quite dramatic, as it stemmed from McCraney's decision to abandon the original production. McCraney realized that the completed play was not suitable for the stage and gave up on its theatrical adaptation, but he handed the unpublished play to Barry Jenkins at a film festival, leading to its adaptation into a film. Remarkably, Jenkins and McCraney did not know each other but grew up in the same neighborhood as children, which likely influenced Jenkins's emotional response to the play reflecting McCraney's experiences. Since the original playwright abandoned the adaptation, there will likely be no future opportunities to encounter the original, but McCraney successfully won the Academy Award for Adapted Screenplay with this work.
<Moments with You>
The 2017 film <Moments with You> is also based on a play. This film is also difficult to find the original play for, as it has not been officially published in South Korea and, like <Incendies>, the title differs significantly from the original. The original title written by Jordan Harrison is 「Marjorie Prime」. The title combines the protagonist, 80-year-old dementia patient Marjorie, and the A.I. Prime that replicates the identity of the deceased. The title becomes clear when one sees the work, but it can be perplexing for those who have not seen it. The interactions between Marjorie and Prime, who resembles her late husband Walter in his youth, as well as the surrounding characters remembering him through Prime, layer upon each other, prompting the work to question what memory is and how much we can expand our understanding of existence. Before the full arrival of the A.I. era, the literary and philosophical imagination towards A.I. was nominated for the Pulitzer Prize in Drama.
