The Old Man And The Sea - Comparison Between The Book And The Film

After having read the Hemingway's "Old Man and the Sea" as a book in class, we also watched the film which was made afterwards because of the story's enormous popularity. As always, there are some ways in which the book differs from the film as well as the fact that they have several things in common.

Taking into consideration that this novel was Hemingway's last desperate attempt at breaking through after all his previous narratives flopped I thought that the film might be different from the movie indeed because he might've wanted to bring the story into perfection in this way. Also I assumed it to be very boring to spend a whole film showing how one single man overcomes his mental and physical problems and eventually manages to catch a huge marlin and take it home; thus that there were other, new events involved for more variety and that things which were pushed into the background in the book now were more striking fore extra depth. For example, a new role, flashbacks and different storylines would make the film more interesting.

From these suggested improvements you can conclude that I consider the book to be a bit longwinded because there are actually very few events taking place: the long fight against the marlin before it dies and then the numerous shark attacks to the fish which the old man can't avert. Anyhow, at mental point there's a lot to enjoy: every time when Santiago faces a new problem to cope with he thinks of lions on the beach (which represent him when he is young and strong and could overcome any challenge), the great softball player Di-Maggio in whom he has faith (he wants to be just as strong as him) or about the young boy (Manolin) in his home-village (he wants him to be with him so he can help). All those memories of his youth, idol and helper make the story more interesting because in this way you get an idea of his norms and values and what his life now and in the past looked like. This corresponds to Hemingway's life, so he represents Santiago. His norms and values are compared to the sea: in a struggle, nature will always win. Thus the message "don't give up" is characterised by faith and bravery. Those trains of thought, though not essential for the story, make it gripping.

So what do we expect from the film?

 More depth in the story and events through an extra role, flashbacks or different storylines.

 Making the story less longwinded by bringing in more physical interaction.

 The general storyline with Santiago's thoughts, norms, values and struggles and how he overcomes them to be a little more exaggerated for extra psychological depth in the story and make the message clearer.

After having watched the film the first thing that struck me was that because of the lack of computer techniques and animations (there was no computer in the days it was produced), and the obvious changes between studio scenes and the ones made out at sea made the whole film resemble a comedy rather than a serious drama one. This doesn't matter, of course, because the story in general is very serious; it's a struggle between life and death.

The first real difference between the book and the film become clear at the very beginning of the movie, when a writer asks his wife "how shall use that old man in my story?" and the woman answers: "You have to decide; you are the author!" It is from then on very obvious that Hemingway and his wife play a part in the film themselves, and that the old man is their image because they have to overcome some problems as well. After the man sold his car and starts worrying more and more about the old man when he hasn't returned for three days. This causes friction between them until Manolin tells them about Santiago's problems over the last time. When the old man then eventually returns, all the friction is gone and they live happily ever after.

The second important difference is that in the film the old man has been given a daughter, who is already married, has two children and lives in the nearby city. She visits Santiago on the eve before he sails out to catch the marlin, and tries to persuade him to come and join her and her family in the city where life's better, cleaner etc. But Santiago, stubborn as he is, wants to stay and have one more try and so his daughter leaves, obviously taking offence.

Two days later, when Santiago hasn't returned for the night, she visits the village again and is brought into contact with Hemmingway and his wife through Manolin. They all feel like acting except for Manolin who has all faith in the old man. And because they don't know how to act they wait, worry and think. Those scenes are