Romance@Madison

 

Romance@Madison

 


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Kato, have you been to the above Roseman Covered Bridge in Madison County?


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Oh no, I haven't. 　The other day I watched a drama titled "The Bridge of Madison County" at the Vancouver Public Library.

 



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■"Actual List"

 



This is the list of movies I've recently viewed at the library... Look at the red-rectangled title in the above list!



I see... You watched it on July 3, huh?

That's right.

 


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■"Actual Page"

 


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I see... so after you watched, you jotted down the following comment, huh?

Produced and directed by Clint Eastwood, this is a 1995 American romantic drama based on the best-selling novel of the same name by Robert James Waller.

The story in the diaries reveals the impact the affair had on the lives of a farm woman and a National Geographic photographer.

The affair took place while her husband and children were at the state fair in Illinois.


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She almost ran away with him to travel the world with him.

After a wrenching period of decision-making, however, she decided to stay at the last minute after considering the bigger picture that includes the consequences leaving would have on the lives of her teenage children and husband, who was a good, loving man.

After all the photographer finds meaning and his true calling as an artist.

It also has deep consequences on the lives of her son and daughter, who are both experiencing marital problems.


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Their mother’s story helped them to find a sense of direction in their lives.

It is an old-fashioned love story with some meanings in terms of the present day context.

Superb are the performances of Clint Eastwood and Meryl Streep.

 



Diane, have you seen the above movie?



Oh yes, I have. 　That was quite a popular movie back in those days of the late 1990s simply because the novel, on which the film was based, was a 1992 best-seller. 　Actually, 60 million copies were sold worldwide.

 

The Bridges of Madison County (Book)


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It is a 1992 best-selling novel by Robert James Waller that tells the story of a married
but lonely Italian-American woman (war bride) living on a 1960s Madison County, Iowa farm.

While her husband and children are away at the State Fair, she engages in an affair with a National Geographic photographer
from Bellingham, Washington, who is visiting Madison County to create a photographic essay on the covered bridges in the area.

The novel is presented as a novelization of a true story, but it is in fact entirely fictional.
However, the author stated in an interview that there were strong similarities between the main character and himself.

The novel is one of the bestselling books of the 20th century, with 60 million copies sold worldwide.
It has also been adapted into a feature film in 1995 and a musical in 2013.

 

Publication history

It was originally published in the UK under the title Love in Black and White.

A sequel entitled A Thousand Country Roads was published in 2002.
It tells the remainder of the two main characters' story after their four-day affair.
They never meet again, but their lives are interlocked until death.

In 2005, the trilogy was completed with High Plains Tango, which came about when Waller was writing "A Thousand Country Roads" and he realized he had two novels' worth of material.
"High Plains Tango picks up the story of itinerant master carpenter Carlisle McMillan, Robert Kincaid's illegitimate son, who settles in Salamander, S.D.
There his life becomes intertwined with two very different women and almost overrun by the threats of eminent domain."

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SOURCE:"The Bridges of Madison County"
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

 



Sixty million copies, eh? 　Amazing!



Did you watch the movie on July 3 for the first time?

Yes, I did. 　Actually, I was quite interested in the movie when it was quite often talked about in those days.

Then why didn't you view the movie back in those days?

Well, I could hardly imagine that Clint Eastwood would take such a melodramatic role. 　You see, he was quite famous as a "Dirty Harry."

 


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He was also famous as a hard-boiled guy in Spaghetti Western or Italian Western such as "For a Few Dollars More" directed by Sergio Leone.

 


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I could hardly think that Clint Eastwood would play a protagonist as a ladys' man in "The Bridges of Madison County."



Is that the reason you didn't watch the movie in the 1990s?

Yes, it is. 　His womanizer-image destroyed my appetite for the movie.

Then how come you watched the movie at this time?

Well, as Clint Eastwood gets older, I'm getting softer on his image.

So how did you like the movie?

As I jotted down the comment, the performances of Clint Eastwood and Meryl Streep are superb. 　I was quite impressed by their acting. 　The film was made based on a true story, I guess.

No, I don't think so. 　As noted in the above article of Wikipedia, the novel is presented as a novelization of a true story, but it is in fact entirely fictional.

I know, but look at the following article about the author.

 

Robert James Waller


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Robert James Waller (August 1, 1939 – March 10, 2017) was an American author best known for "The Bridges of Madison County"---an enormously successful book in 1993.
He was also a photographer and musician.

Life

Waller received his BA ('62) and MA ('64) from University of Northern Iowa (then known as Iowa State Teachers College).
He received his PhD in business from the Kelley School of Business at Indiana University Bloomington in 1968.

Later that year he returned to UNI and began teaching management and economics, and in 1977 became a full professor.
He became dean of the College of Business in 1980 and retired from that position in 1986.
It was announced in 2000 that he made a "seven figure" donation to Indiana University.

Several of his books have been on the New York Times bestseller list including 1992's "The Bridges of Madison County" which was the top best-seller in 1993.
Both that novel and his 1995 novel, Puerto Vallarta Squeeze, have been made into motion pictures.

Personal life

In 1997, his marriage of 35 years to Georgia ended in divorce.

An article in People Magazine noted, "The parallels between Waller's life and his art (his Bridges heroine, farmwife Francesca, sacrifices her chance for happiness with a globe-hopping photographer in order to stay home and shield her loved ones from small-town scandal) haven't been lost on the locals".

Waller died on March 10, 2017, at his home in Fredericksburg, Texas.
He was 77 and had been battling multiple myeloma.

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SOURCE:"Robert James Waller"
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

 



You see, the author was divorced in 1997. 　What do you think made the couple get divorced?



Well, nobody knows for sure. 　Besides, he's been dead now. 　The secret was buried with him.

But the author stated in an interview that there were strong similarities between the main character and himself. 　That's the reason the novel is presented as a novelization of a true story, which has obviously damaged his wife's feeling. 　Therefore, the couple got divorced, I suppose.

In any case, that's none of your buinsess, Kato.

I know, I know ... But aren't you curious about it? 　The above Wikipedia article says: The parallels between Waller's life and Francesca's life remains on the locals.

After all, it is anybody's guess.



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【Himiko's Monologue】


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Well..., Francesca almost ran away with Robert to travel the world with him.

After a wrenching period of decision-making, however, she decided to stay at the last minute after considering the bigger picture that includes the consequences leaving would have on the lives of her teenage children and husband, who was a good, loving man.

When you view the movie, you might be surprised to see how much damage a scandal would cause in such a rural community in those days.

As a matter of fact, Robert noticed an alienated woman in a local cafe-restaurant when he dropped in.


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The woman sitting beside Robert (played by Clint Eastwood) was ignored by elder waitresses because of her extramarital scandal.

However, the younger waitress reluctantly took an order, but on a second thought, the woman decided to get out because the customers inside all stared at her with most treacherously despising gaze.

She just couldn't stand it.

In those days, you could hardly ignore those contemptuous gazes.

Those rural communities were open in terms of scandal and rumors but closed and close-knit in terms of human relations.

Everybody knew everybody; everybody watched everybody.

Now times seem to have been changed.

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So, I think Calpernia is quite brave to make a decision to transform her male self into female self.

Well, you can live your life ONLY once.

Nobody prevents you from realizing your dream.

So, if it's your dream, it's your choice to transform yourself or to stay as you are.

In any case, I expect Kato will write another interesting article soon.

So please come back to see me.

Have a nice day!

Bye bye ...


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If you've got some time,

Please read one of the following artciles:




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■Ramen Boom

■from Korea

■Omakase@Sushi

■Crocodile Meat

■Killer Floods


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■Climate of Doubt

■Glory of Death

■Big Mystery

■Hitler and Trump

■Hot October




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Hi, I'm June Adams.

Kato is a real movie lover, who tries to watch 1001 movies.

As a matter of fact, he has already accomplished his goal.


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■『Actual List』


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Kato watched "The Arabian Nights" or "One Thousand and One Nights" as his 1001th movie.

You might just as well want to view it.


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The stories in "the Arabian Nights" were collected over many centuries by various authors, translators, and scholars across West, Central, and South Asia and North Africa.

The tales themselves trace their roots back to ancient and medieval Arabic, Persian, Indian, Egyptian and Mesopotamian folklore and literature.

In particular, many tales were originally folk stories from the Caliphate era, while others, especially the frame story, are most probably drawn from the Pahlavi Persian work Hazār Afsān which in turn relied partly on Indian elements.

What is common throughout all the editions of the Nights is the initial frame story of the ruler Shahryār and his wife Scheherazade and the framing device incorporated throughout the tales themselves.

The stories proceed from this original tale.

Some are framed within other tales, while others begin and end of their own accord.

Some editions contain only a few hundred nights, while others include 1,001 or more.


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