'Alone In Berlin' - The Film I Wanted To Make
I need to read more. I need to buy books more. The problem is it takes me ages to read a book. I'm more of a television and film person. I'm also an aspiring television and film scriptwriter. So when I do spend my hard won cash on a book I always choose very carefully and make a genuine effort to complete it.
The last book I bought for bedtime reading was back in 2011. The book is called Alone In Berlin and is authored by Hans Fallada. It tells the true story of a German couple living in Berlin during the second world war, who were resistant to the Nazis and Nazi ideology. Otto Quangel, the husband of Anna Quangel, begins to drop postcards with anti-Hitler messages all around Berlin. It is an extremely dangerous and brave act of resistance. However, despite the consequences if discovered Otto feels he must continue his work.
As I began reading the book I was utterly gripped. We don't hear of that many stories of German resistance to Hitler and the Nazis, so I found the story very refreshing. When I got further into the book I said to myself this is a story I would like to make into a film, such was the compelling strength of the narrative. I kept on turning those pages and with each chapter I could visualise more and more. The scripts I have written are all original stories that I have conceptualised. So it came as a surprise to me that I wanted to make someone else's story into a film, but a very pleasant surprise it was.
This year though someone has beaten me to it unfortunately. The film is now a major motion picture. The filmmakers have gone all out and it is a big production starring Emma Thompson. It's so strange because it was a film that I have created so much in my own mind. I have pieced so many scenes together already and now, alas, I have no choice other than to allow another filmmaker to present the film to the world. And I truly hope they do a damn fine job of it. More importantly though I hope they do justice to the book.
Remember resistance is not always futile.