Thursday, January 27, 2005

Lions of Al-Rassan to become a movie

So the news is that Ed Zwick, director of The Last Samurai, will direct an adaptation of The Lions of Al-Rassan, a novel written by Guy Gavriel Kay.
I read the book and enjoyed it. It's sort of fantasy, sort of historical fiction. It's really about the reconquest of Spain, yet all the places and names have been changed. Here's a review of the book. I think I liked the book more than the reviewer, but I haven't read any other Kay novels.
This is a good story for this time. It's about the collision of politics and religion, and how much can be lost when the two become stiff and unyielding. Specifically, it's about the collision of Muslim and Christian cultures and the novel focuses on at least one Jew caught in between. (Of course, in the novel the religions are Asharites, Jaddites and Kindath, but it's very clear what they are.)
The novel has no magic, if it weren't for the change of names this wouldn't even be considered a fantasy novel. It would be strict historical fiction.
Anyway, I'm looking forward to the film to see what Zwick does with the material.

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