Today, the movie 線は、僕を描く (Sen wa, Boku wo Egaku) opened in Japan. It is based on a novel by the same name, published in 2019. The story is related to Japanese ink painting (a form of ink wash painting that originated from Chinese and spread to Japan), which drew my interest as someone who practises Japanese calligraphy, which basically uses similar equipment (brushes, ink, paper, and such). I even bought the novel and finished it before the movie came out. I was so excited about the movie, and bought a ticket for the first show today at the nearby theatre.
I couldn't find an official English name for this movie but I have seen "The Lines that Define Me" used here. The movie is due to release in Taiwan at the end of the month, and I think it will also show in South Korea. Hopefully, it gets to show in Singapore too.
The broad concept of the movie is the same as the original novel it is based on: the protagonist learned to recover from grief through ink wash painting. Through learning how to draw ink wash paintings, he slowly learned to see the world around him, coming out of his grief to move on in life.
Unlike the novel, though, there were some changes to the story. For example, in the novel, the protagonist had an eye for detail, but this was not reflected in the movie. The novel also had a romantic aspect to the relationship between Sosuke (the protagonist) and Chiaki (granddaughter of the Sosuke's ink wash painting teacher, who is herself a great artist), which was reflected in the manga adaptation but not really so in the movie. Sosuke's tragic past was also changed from the death of his parents in a traffic accident into the death of his family (parents and younger sister) during a flood. Sosuke's friends also knew about the tragic accident in the movie; in the novel, they only knew he has some sort of tragic past. Another ink wash painting master, Suizan, was turned into a woman who has stopped painting to become an art critic.
While these changes may not seem much, when taken together, they are enough to turn the movie's story into something quite different from the novel, with the only commonality being the broad concept. The movie is still touching, with great music by Yokoyama Masaru. Yokohama Ryusei also did a great job portraying the grief experienced by Sosuke. Still, I think the movie lacks the full punch I got from reading the novel. I may go watch the movie again just to see if my thoughts will change.
Here's a short video about how to draw an ink wash painting (it is actually an ad for the novel).
Actually, I have mixed feelings about how they changed the story for this live-action adaptation of the novel. While the broad concept is the same, in which the protagonist learned to recover from grief through ink wash painting, details have been changed. The problem is, the original novel is an award-winning work. It won an award because of its story, not just the broad concept. I am fine if changes are made to the story for a better live-action adaptation, which is usually needed if the source material is a manga, anime, or light novel. But for this, the original novel is a slice-of-life type of novel, which makes it easy for live-action adaptation as it is. So any changes to the story will need to really really add to the story...
For a mediocre piece of work with a strong concept, yes, the changes will likely make the resulting movie better. But for an award-winning work like this one, it means that whoever is coming up with this new story believes he or she can do better than the award-winning author. Most of the time, it is just hubris. Like this time. I don't think the movie's story is any stronger than the original novel; I don't think it is even on par. Still, the movie is touching because of the strong concept, but it could have been even better if they had been more faithful to the original novel.
Update 27 October 2022: I watched the movie again last night, and decided to write a bit more about my thoughts.
First, overall, the movie is a good movie. It is worth watching, with some plot lines that become clearer toward the end of the movie. The music is also nicely scored, adding a sense of dynamism to the more impactful scenes, and a slight sense of melancholy to the sadder ones.
There are, however, changes to the story which I cannot figure out the reasons. In the story, Suizan is another master artist, a soft-spoken man who is also in grief, which explains why he was impressed by Sosuke's ability to perceive his grief. In the movie, Suizan has been turned into a woman with a haughty attitude, but with no significant impact on the story. If you remove her from the movie, it won't really matter too...
The minor character Akane (Suizan's granddaughter) was also featured in the movie, but this time as a dairy farmer. But unlike in the story, movie Akane has zero impact on the story and does nothing to change it. Why even bother to bring her in if there is no role for her to play?
One key aspect of the story is Chiaki's antagonistic attitude toward Sosuke. Their competition, to see who wins the art award, is a key part of the story. But the movie did away with the competition. The motivation for Sosuke and Chiaki then becomes very blur. It also weakens the impact of the ending, when Chiaki wins the award, but Sosuke, who came in very close behind, was actually given a special award by Suizan (only in the story; in the movie, he was given the newcomer's award, which didn't convey the special sense of "only for you this year we came up with a new award"). And in the story, their relationship grew due to this friendly competition, and they grew much closer toward the end of the story. In the movie, the nature, direction, and development of their relationship is a bit more blur.
Sosuke's family story was also changed from his parents being killed in a car accident, into his parents and younger sister (named Tsubaki) being killed in a severe flood. I see this change as the director wanting to bring in the camellia (called tsubaki in Japanese) theme for the movie, with the camellia plant symbolising Sosuke's younger sister, which is why he cried when he first saw Chiaki's painting of camellia (rose in the story, though...) and ending the movie with his drawing of camellia winning him the newcomer's award (in the story, he drew chrysanthemum flowers instead). Although this change is part of the plot, I feel it does not really strengthen the story. It is more like a sidetrack.
In the story, Sosuke was told to learn to draw chrysanthemum without being given any sample drawing. Instead, Kosan-sensei told him to "beg the chrysanthemum" to teach him. Through trial and error and with perseverance, he eventually realised what Kosan-sensei meant and was able to draw his own painting of chrysanthemum that was so good that he was given a special award by Suizan-sensei, the head judge.
I also prefer the story for its portrayal of Sosuke as an outside observer looking at his own life. It gives a sense of him being delinked from reality ever since his parents were killed. Through learning to paint, and forming relationships with the people around him through painting, he was finally able to see life in the first-person again. In the movie, he is just plagued by sad memories, and a sense of guilt. But this is not as impactful as the story, where he has lost his desire to live (although that is not the same as wanting to die).
The character of Kosan was also changed from being a master artist at the pinnacle of his art, to being just another old man with some bits of wisdom to share. The Kosan in the movie does not have the aura of a master artist, and does not talk like one.
In all, I think the director and scriptwriter probably did they best to develop a consistent story for the movie based on the main concept of the novel. However, I think they probably did not have a deep enough understanding of this art form to fully comprehend the nuances in the novel that made the novel so impactful. It is such a pity, because the movie is only about 1 hour 45 minutes, and they could have easily did a faithful adaptation of the novel (which may take around 2 hours 15 to 30 minutes, I guess) instead to achieve a much more impactful movie. Don't get me wrong. This is still a good movie. But with the material in hand (they have a strong cast, and a great novel), it could have been sooooo much better.
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