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The
Dream-Quest of Unknown Kadath (2003)
Three
times Randolph Carter dreamed of the marvelous Sunset
City and three times was he snatched away while still
he paused on the high terrace above it...
This is my very favorite book in the world. An odd choice
for such a distinction, yet I can think of no other book
that has meant more to me. I read it very early in my
life, it challenged me and my imagination, but it is not
an easy read. The images and concepts in it are partly
familiar to anyone versed in general juvenile fiction,
from Greek mythology to Arabian Nights, from Kenneth Graham
to Lewis Carroll, yet there is much more here. This is
the private dream vocabulary of the unique writer, H.P.
Lovecraft. What is a zoog? A night-gaunt? Just who is
Nyarlathotep? Even a Lovecraft scholar may falter here,
because the Nyarlathotep we meet here is different from
any other within the writings of this Twentieth Century
master of the macabre. Indeed, this is not a scary story.
It could be, but the tone is one of subdued menace, with
romance and mystery turned up on high. It is an adventure
story. This is Lovecraft's Odyssey and Randolph Carter
is Ulysses on his grand quest to return
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to
his home after fate has taken it from him/him from it, whatever.
In few writers can
we point to a greater sense of identification with place
and geographic background, with childhood memories.
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One
of the qualities of great art is that it continues to reveal
itself in subsequent viewings, that it is so rich and packed
with ideas that it can't be consumed in a single sitting. If
you have never read the book, you may well have many questions
after viewing this film. I reckon that is a good thing. Watch
it again. Read the book. Ask a Lovecraft fan what a such and
such is. It's endlessly rewarding. The music is so good that
it may even obscure some of the dialog now and then. Just as
well, as the readings by non-actors are wooden and not much
help when giving us the special vocabulary of Lovecraftian images.
The onward pull of the quest is relentless, even if the mind
may wish to linger, wondering, It was a what? They went where?
Huh?
I
have monitored the reactions of Lovecraft fans as well as non-Lovecraft
persons to this film, and it seems to play best to the fans
who already know what it's all about. This is to be expected.
Lovecraft's appeal is extremely connected to his hypnotic text.
Take that away and the spell is broken. But this may be one
of the most faithful cinematic adaptations of Lovecraft yet,
as there is nothing here that is not in the book, and most of
what is in the book is given some representation here in this
sequence of images. And what is more important, the music and
images combine to deliver the tone of the book.
-
Gavin Smith
bookstore website: http://www.gavinicussbooks.com/
subscribe
to my yahoogroup: gavinicussbooks@yahoogroups.com
Purchase the Dream-Quest DVD here.
