Vladimir Nabokov

NABOKV-L post 0002807, Fri, 6 Feb 1998 19:58:55 -0800

Subject
Nabokov and Kieslowski? Hope not (fwd)
Date
Body
From: "Peter A. Kartsev" <petr@glas.apc.org>

I have recently found the following in a film-related newsgroup. This
is, I think, the first mention of VN that I've seen in a USENET group in
the
two years that I've been on the Net. If there are N-L subscribers who
are
interested in film, I wonder what is their opinion of the subject. I've
always
felt that K. is a classical example of an intellectual fraud, in the
Nabokovian
sense of the word.

Peter A. Kartsev

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Subject: 3 colors & nabokov (was: doppelgangers)

I saw RED not too long ago. Someone on another thread
mentioned Kieslowski's work with doppelganger themes in an
earlier movie (the name of which I forget) [Probably "La double
vie de Veronique" - PK]. I found this very interesting, because
when I saw RED, I felt very strongly that the plot structure and
some themes were very Nabokovian; for those unfamiliar with his
work, Nabokov used doubles and/or doppelgangers in many of his
major works-- Claire Quilty (the Sellars character in the movie)
in LOLITA being one.

Are there any Nabokov fans out there who have seen RED (or
other Kieslowski movies) and felt the same way?

Is there any record of Kieslowski being a Nabokov fan?

Of course, another movie with an amazingly similar structure to
RED, though it is not a romance, is Polanski's THE TENANT. Do
you think Kieslowski was deliberately patterning RED from
Polanski-- as a tribute, say?-- or were they just interested in
similar themes, perhaps by merit of a Polish national
literature? Doppelgangers and doubles are a common theme of
Slavic literature going back to medieval folk tales, but the
wrap-around spiral strutcture is a little more advanced-- a
Nabokov speciality often used by Polanski (THE TENANT, and also
I think his MACBETH).

Anyone?

Kevin Troy.

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