Comments on: 'Like Alice in Wonderland': Solveig Nordlund on J.G. Ballard

By: Chris Cokinos

Chris Cokinos — Tue, 12 Jan 2010 23:26:41 +0000

Hi,

I’m trying to find an English-subtitled version of the Portg. film adaptation of “Low Flying Aircraft.” As well, I’m hoping to find, for research purposes, copies of the BBC films 13 to Centaurus, Minus 1 and Home. If anyone can help, please reply privately to chris.cokinos@usu.edu

Thanks much.

By: Friday finds « STEVENHARTSITE

Friday finds « STEVENHARTSITE — Fri, 11 Sep 2009 11:08:10 +0000

[...] may be the best J.G. Ballard adaptation ever filmed. Too bad it doesn’t get shown much outside the festival [...]

By: Nuno Loureiro

Nuno Loureiro — Sat, 10 Jan 2009 20:01:27 +0000

My most sincear congratulations for the excelent interview. Rick. As a fan of both Ballard and Solveig Nordlund’s work, it was a real pleasure their two worlds combine in this fascinating film. Being Portuguese, I was lucky enough to see it on cinema – what a photography, indeed… As for the story, well, being a father myself, it just made me think about a lot of things… What’s to say more? Thank you Rick, thank you Solveig, and – of course – thank you J.G. Ballard, for writing one of my favourite books.

By: Anthony

Anthony — Wed, 03 Dec 2008 20:04:27 +0000

Beyond fascinating, this is just superb. ‘Thirteen to …’ is a story that I have had the privilege of introducing many students to over the years, and they love its basic premise – aren’t all JGB”s shorts fundamentally plausible – and its claustrophobia. I loved those clips of it and will hunt it down till I can hunt no more! Thank you!!

By: Recent Links Tagged With "aliceinwonderland" - JabberTags

Recent Links Tagged With "aliceinwonderland" - JabberTags — Wed, 15 Oct 2008 01:04:19 +0000

[...] public links >> aliceinwonderland ‘Like Alice in Wonderland’: Solveig Nordlund on JG Ballard Saved by androidette on Mon 13-10-2008 Alice in Wonderland 1933 Saved by mrsmikeyway4ever on Sun [...]

By: Kyle

Kyle — Thu, 04 Sep 2008 14:33:41 +0000

I just got this reply re the DVD of ‘Aparelho Voador a Baixa Altitude’ from the film company.

You can buy the movie on this link:
https://www.blueplanetdvd.com/app/cliapp/ItemTitle/Info.tea?parId=9427

Sadly Portuguese only and they won’t deliver to my part of the world.
Damn.

Kyle

By: Umberto R

Umberto R — Tue, 26 Aug 2008 10:01:32 +0000

Can you judge a film having only seen three short pieces of it, no more than 30′ in total? No, you can’t, yet I find this movie very interesting, so much so that I’d quickly buy the DVD were it available. The setting, the atmosphere, the images are basically right, what a Ballard movie should be. A feeling I get is that the director put in the foreground the issue of maternity, which is not that important in the original story, though I can’t say it is not there. But that’s what a good film based on a novel or a story should do: develop something which is only embryonic or potential in the original text. Then you have a good film based on a good story.

(The holiday resort is just great. Pure Vermilion Sands!)

By: Iraklis

Iraklis — Tue, 26 Aug 2008 02:33:23 +0000

This is a very illuminating interview, Rick – thanx a million for it! Mme Solveig has done a wonderful work, as I could see from the original dvd a Baalardian guy named Jose sent me two years ago. It~s visually awesome and a friend of mine is working on an English subtitling from Portuguese. What was remarkable about JGB’s house was that it had a somehow spartan style in its furniture and decoration but its dimensions seemed to grow every time i gazed at it during a memorable visit back in 1997… Hope to see ya all in Barcelona – just issued my tickets. Have a good time!

By: Mike H

Mike H — Sun, 24 Aug 2008 15:40:51 +0000

I was fortunate enough to be able to watch ‘Aparelho Voador a Baixa Altitude’ with the English sub-titles, and I agree with Rick – it’s well filmed and produced, but what impressed me most was the way that Solveig has expanded on Ballard’s story but without making it into something else. I must try and view the film again soon, but it seems to me that much of what was added was at least implicit in the original.

At one point, Ballard has Gould say about homo sapiens ‘Our job is simply to repopulate the world with our successors’, a statement that might be said to be equally true for parents in respect of their children. I think this sort of duality is present throughout much of the film, and is well captured at the end, with the sung words ‘the instant you were born, my time came to an end, my baby’ – the future is always born out of the present, even as it destroys it.

By: Mike B.

Mike B. — Sun, 24 Aug 2008 13:15:22 +0000

Great stuff Rick and Simon. The film looks great, a new angle on Ballard’s story. I’d love to see the whole thing.

By: Kyle

Kyle — Sun, 24 Aug 2008 10:43:39 +0000

Excellent interview Rick and thanks for the clips from Nordlunds work.
‘Journey to Orion’ is startlingly different from the BBC version. The use of colour is beautiful while the contrast between the close ups of the captains face and the monitor shots of the elusive boy make it surprisingly tense for a movie in which basically little happens. Well worth watching.
I only skimmed through the ‘Aparelho Voador a Baixa Altitude’ clips because it looks terrific and I want to see it properly, not in poxy Youtube-o-vision! What a shame they didn’t add subtitles to the DVD. I tried to buy it on-line but it doesn’t seem to be available. A real shame.
Kyle