#12: THE ADAPTATION ARCH - THERESE RAQUIN TO THIRST

Kang-ho Song, Ha-kyun Shin, Ok-bin Kim in Thirst

The key to adaptation is really rooted with simplicity.  You begin with the initial mold of a simple character and story, both with timeless consistency, and pair it with a disruptive conflict...everything after that is left to the evolving details, which gradually morph into varying genres and themes. 

Emile Zola's 1867 novel Therese Raquin (which was later adapted into a play in 1872) has consistently provided the perfect mold for a number of adaptations, each carrying their own distinct and memorable identity.

The story is carried from the perspective of the film's titular heroine, Therese, a young, lonely woman trapped in an arranged marriage to her weak, sickly cousin, as they are forced to live with her overbearingly manipulative aunt above the family's dress shop.  When a handsome stranger comes into her life, Therese is ignited with temptation and passion, soon realizing the reality of escape.  This then leads to a series of cataclysmic and tragic events, crippling secrets and murder. 

One of the most original and layered interpretations of Zola's thriller is Oldboy director Chan-Wook Park's 2009 film Thirst.  Now, it should be immediately stated that the connection between Thirst and Therese Raquin is not the primary, subliminal focus of the film.  First and foremost, Thirst is about vampires... not so much the trending vampire type: brooding, romantically dreary, desperately lonely and a thousand years old...but about recently deceased humans unexpectedly and undesirably blighted with this immortal fate, abandoned without guidance or limits to their unearthly powers.  

Before I start running off a clinical reiteration of the film's synopsis, eventually giving away too much, I'm going to stop here and revert back to the point of this post, which is purely to suggest two films bound through the cinematic adaptation of Zola's literary thriller: Marcel Carne's 1953 version of Therese Raquin (which was later titled The Adultress) and Park's Thirst.

Start off with Carne's version, which gives a classic yet modern modification of the original story (featuring Simone Signoret in the titular role), then follow with Park's Thirst, which pretty much consumes the plot of Raquin, stealthily enveloping it with its own charismatically gruesome twist. 
 

Ok-bin Kim and Kang-ho Song in Thirst

Ok-bin Kim and Kang-ho Song in Thirst

Marcel Carne's Therese Raquin or The Adultress (1953)

Simone Signoret and Raf Vallone in Therese Raquin or The Adultress (1953)

Proving the unfading intrigue of Zola's tragic romance and cautionary tale, a new film adaptation titled Therese is currently being filmed and is set for a release in the 2013, returning back to its original 19th century, Parisian era.  

Here is an image taken on set of Elizabeth Olsen (Marcy, Martha, May, Marlene) as Therese, along with supporting talent Jessica Lange.  The cast will also include Tom Felton (Harry Potter series) and Oscar Isaac (Drive, Sucker Punch). 

Elizabeth Olsen and Jessica Lange on the set of Therese

-MTK