Hello gentle reader,
this week again I’m taking part in the Tursday’s Children meme hosted by Rhiann Wynn-Nolet and Kristina Perez. It is “a weekly blog hop where writers come together to talk about whatever inspires them.”
This week I’d like to share with you a movie I really like: Angel by French director François Ozon (2007).
In a previous post, I mentioned how I’m always annoyed by the way writers are portrayed in movies. In a word: unrealistic. Except maybe in Angel. This movie is about the life of a young romance writer at the beginning of the 20th Century. It was inspired by the life of Marie Corelli, who was one of the first authors to write bestsellers and become a star in the UK.
Here are a few reasons why I like this movie:
– It shows a writer writing.
In the morning, in the afternoon, at night, Angel writes. She forgets to eat, reads her stories aloud, sighs at people who disturb her… and she writes books. A lot of them. And the movie shows how much work and commitment it takes to do that.
Angel: “I am NOT leaving this room until I wrote ‘The End’!”
– It shows how crazy writers can appear to non-writers
Angel’s mother: “What if Angel is very gifted and we just don’t understand it?”
Angel’s husband: “You write too much!”
I love these quotes, because to her relatives, Angel is an alien. She spends her days in her bedroom writing stories. Who does that?! I also love the reaction of Angel’s mother when Angel tells her she’s getting published:
Angel: “A publisher wants to meet me!”
Mother (puzzled): “Whatever for?!”
Angel (laughs hysterically): “To publish my book!”
– It shows a writer who writes the stories she wants, and which then touch readers. I like how Angel writes what she loves and that’s how she becomes successful. But towards the end, when she writes to earn money and to give the readers what she thinks they want, her books don’t sell anymore.
Angel: “Don’t you know what this book means? It means money!”
– It shows how fleeting literary success is, but how a writer is a writer for life. After ten years of writing bestselling books, Angel stops being a successful writer when readers turn to other authors. But even when her books stop selling, she keeps writing, keeps coming up with new stories. Because you can’t stop imagination.
Have you ever watched this movie? Do you recognise yourself in this character? Feel free to leave me a comment below, and to visit the other Thursday’s Children posts here.
EM Castellan 
I haven’t seen the movie but it sounds awesome. I read somewhere that a writer never has the same kind of freedom to write what she really wants to write, once she has sold a book. There’s some truth to that.
Yes I could definitely see elements of myself in the character of Angel you’ve described, mainly in the way that I want to write about what I want to write about, if that makes sense. I don’t want to feel that I have to stick to a specific genre or subject area – I want to feel able to experiment. Great post! I’d love to watch the film sometime – I’ve never seen it and I love Romola Garai as an actress!
This looks great – will have to check it out! Kind of sad too…how writing might (will?) change once publishing/money becomes a part of it (what most of us are striving for). Kind of a cruel reality. O.o
Great post. I think I might be renting Angel this weekend! And yes, I think we writers seem pretty to kooky to everyone else…
I’ve not seen this either, but I’m glad the movie made an effort to show writing for what it is. I started writing exactly what I wanted to write – but am already aware of how much other people’s opinions / expectations are intruding.
I really admire those rare people who hold fast to their vision and refuse to be swayed for monetary or other reasons.
Yes. All of this. And the comments. I’m watching the movie this weekend. I think our inspiration this week came from the same wave length. Love you for sharing this!! 🙂
This post made me smile and until now I’ve never heard of Angel, but I will definitely be watching it a.s.a.p. as I gather that it will make me feel like less of a weirdo : )
I hadn’t seen or heard of this movie. I want to see it! It looks lovely. I hate how some movies portray writers and getting published.
Thanks for sharing!
I really need to watch this. Thank you for sharing! 🙂