Murakami's voice in novel and film

  Previously I wrote about how Murakami’s novels and short stories have an “American voice”, despite being set in Japan. In Norwegian Wood, I found the many references to other novels like The Great Gatsby and songs by The Beatles and other jazz artists to set a scene not quite natural to Tokyo, despite the references to landmarks and street and city names. In the film version, this is done similarly with music. Murakami was a jazz cafe/bar owner, and his works reflect his knowledge of Western culture. The soundtrack in scenes of transition consists of mostly lively, vocal samples accompanied by guitar and drums, whereas the film score around dialogues is calm and consists of mainly quiet piano phrases. This choice maintains the traditional Japanese setting, while interjecting with Western elements. Murakami’s voice is not directly perceived in the film—rather, we hear Toru’s internal dialogue relevant to the immediate world around him. The typical monologue is omitted, and Murakami’s style only enters through scenes like the pool game, working at the record store, and Reiko’s guitar performances. In between, Toru has a factory job, hikes in the mountains near Tokyo, and spends time with Midori. I think that although many scenes are truncated in the adaptation to film, Murakami’s style appears in fewer situations, essentially muting his voice. The soundtrack is more like an excursion into America, rather than an inheritance of either Japanese or American culture. Overall, it distances the film from the novel; if we think of Murakami as directing his stories, the film does not belong to him in the same way.

River