| Posted by: Lindsey at May 11, 2008, 2:18 pm | | Topic: Leon is Humbert Humbert Forum: JoBlo | | I've been on a Lolita kick for the last couple days watching both films and comparing. I even created a thread about Lolita here: http://www.joblo.com/forums/showthread.php?t=120801 But comparing Leon to Humbert? I would have to disagree... I actually saw Leon as more of a father figure, compared to Humbert as he took advantage. Both characters are extremely different, but I understand the similarities between them. Interesting thread none the less, as the thought never crossed my mind. | | Static Link |
| Posted by: chasingbanky at May 11, 2008, 2:07 pm | | Topic: Leon is Humbert Humbert Forum: JoBlo | | Quote: Originally Posted by Tagia_Romero Simply put, I feel this was a REVERSE Lolitian tale, give or take several elements. I think this about nails it. Great movie, with a lot of strange undertones regarding human relationships. Even Stansfield has a lot going on underneath, that's why this movie is so epic. | | Static Link |
| Posted by: eljefe15 at May 11, 2008, 1:04 pm | | Topic: Leon is Humbert Humbert Forum: JoBlo | | Quote: Originally Posted by Tagia_Romero Simply put, I feel this was a REVERSE Lolitian tale, give or take several elements. "Reverse Lolitian tale?" Wow! Can you elaborate this please? | | Static Link |
| Posted by: ListersParanoia at May 7, 2008, 4:03 pm | | Topic: Leon is Humbert Humbert Forum: JoBlo | | The movie's love story is actually based on Luc Besson's love affair with his wife in France (who was criminally underage when they met according to current US law). She's the blonde hooker who's comes to the fat gangster dude's apartment when Leon makes his 1st appearance. The action of course was added for shits and giggles. | | Static Link |
| Posted by: LeonLeon24 at May 7, 2008, 12:41 pm | | Topic: Leon is Humbert Humbert Forum: JoBlo | | Quote: Originally Posted by JJFlamingo Humbert was a perv, who actually wanted Lolita, while Leon was a good guy who kept his hands to himself and it was Mathilda who wanted more out of the relationship... I definitely agree, and I'd be the first to defend Jean Reno's character, but I got the feeling that Mathilda was beginning to break down Leon's defences - especially in the Uncut version (sleeping in a bed, and eventually sharing one, for example). I think Luc Besson effectively skirted round this issue by portraying Leon as essentially a lovable buffoon outside of his profession, and certainly not the calculated predator Humbert was. I also agree with the previous comment about it being impossible to faithfully adapt Lolita. Nabokov's obsession with the English Language could never be faithfully translated into visuals. | | Static Link |
| Posted by: JJFlamingo at May 7, 2008, 10:45 am | | Topic: Leon is Humbert Humbert Forum: JoBlo | | Humbert was a perv, who actually wanted Lolita, while Leon was a good guy who kept his hands to himself and it was Mathilda who wanted more out of the relationship... | | Static Link |
| Posted by: BakeTheMooCow at May 7, 2008, 9:24 am | | Topic: Leon is Humbert Humbert Forum: JoBlo | | That's an interesting theory. I haven't watched Leon in a very long time and I'd have to give it another viewing to catch similarities, but I'd venture that the outline of a man developing a relationship with a young girl is probably inspired by Lolita and not a 'loose adaptation of'. There are too many essential differences such as Leon being hesitant of taking care of Mathilda, while Humbert actively seeking to get Dolores alone with him. And maybe the director's cut pushes the sexual nature of the relationship further, but how far? And even then, I'd imagine it was Mathilda who is attracted to Leon and not the other way around. In fact, Kubrick's Lolita is the loose adaptation because it deviates so much from the novel, despite the screenplay being written by Nabokov. By the way, no one has ever or could ever come close to adequately adapting that book to film. Not Kubrick, certainly not Adrian Lyne. It's impossible. Film is not a rich enough medium for Lolita. | | Static Link |
| Posted by: LeonLeon24 at May 7, 2008, 8:35 am | | Topic: Leon is Humbert Humbert Forum: JoBlo | | I'm a huge fan of Leon (aka The Professional), but, having just read Vladimir Nabokov's Lolita, I pose the question - is Leon simply a loose adaptation of Nabokov's novel? The similarities are all there; for a start Leon is a foreign outsider assimilated into American society with his (admittedly poor to begin with) understanding of English. Then, by chance, he comes into contact with his Lolita, Mathilda (the same age as Dolores Haze in the novel). Eventually, like Nabokov's book, he becomes her sole guardian - and the road trip of the novel is replaced by a rites of passage involving assassin training. Finally, both protagonists (Humbert Humbert and Leon) kill a prominent public figure they believe to have corrupted the life of their young companion - Clare Quilty in Lolita, who takes the girl away from Humbert and attempts to use her in sex games, and Norman Stansfield in Leon, who killed Mathilda's family. The sexual relationship of Lolita is never addressed so explicitly in Leon, but the 'version integr... | | Read Entire Entry |
|