In the novel The Book of Illusions (2002), which deals with the mysterious disappearance of a famous director of silent movies and the loss of most of his films, Paul Auster invents plots, scenes, characters, and situations of a series of imaginary movies. These ekphrasis of non-existent films are among the best things ever written by the American author and the main reason for the success of his novel. Five years after the publication of The Book of Illusions, Auster, who has always been attracted by cinema and direction, decided to realize one of his imaginary films, the latest work of his fictional director, The Inner Life of Martin Frost. Yet, the results are rather unsatisfying: the ‘real’ Martin Frost is much poorer than the imagined one, not only because the magic of the silent movie has been substituted by unbelievable dialogues and an even more impossible plot, but also because Auster the director is not up to the standard of Auster the novelist. The aim of this essay is to compare the two versions of Martin Frost and, relating them to the different media they belong to, to show how from the dream of an invented film can derive the nightmare of a real one.
The Outer Life of Martin Frost, or Never Make an Imaginary Film
ALBERTAZZI, SILVIA
2015
Abstract
In the novel The Book of Illusions (2002), which deals with the mysterious disappearance of a famous director of silent movies and the loss of most of his films, Paul Auster invents plots, scenes, characters, and situations of a series of imaginary movies. These ekphrasis of non-existent films are among the best things ever written by the American author and the main reason for the success of his novel. Five years after the publication of The Book of Illusions, Auster, who has always been attracted by cinema and direction, decided to realize one of his imaginary films, the latest work of his fictional director, The Inner Life of Martin Frost. Yet, the results are rather unsatisfying: the ‘real’ Martin Frost is much poorer than the imagined one, not only because the magic of the silent movie has been substituted by unbelievable dialogues and an even more impossible plot, but also because Auster the director is not up to the standard of Auster the novelist. The aim of this essay is to compare the two versions of Martin Frost and, relating them to the different media they belong to, to show how from the dream of an invented film can derive the nightmare of a real one.I documenti in IRIS sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.
