Raskolnikov as a Transformed Character: Aki Kaurismäki's Adaptation of “Crime and Punishment” (1983)


Arslantepe M., Önal E.

Galactica Media: Journal of Media Studies, cilt.6, sa.2, ss.66-95, 2024 (ESCI) identifier identifier

  • Yayın Türü: Makale / Tam Makale
  • Cilt numarası: 6 Sayı: 2
  • Basım Tarihi: 2024
  • Doi Numarası: 10.46539/gmd.v6i2.455
  • Dergi Adı: Galactica Media: Journal of Media Studies
  • Derginin Tarandığı İndeksler: Emerging Sources Citation Index (ESCI), Scopus
  • Sayfa Sayıları: ss.66-95
  • Anahtar Kelimeler: Character in Cinema, Characterization in Cinema, Crime and Punishment, Dostoevsky, Kaurismäki, Kaurismäki's Cinema, Literature and Cinema, Novel Adaptations, Novel and Cinema, Russian Literature
  • Kocaeli Üniversitesi Adresli: Evet

Özet

How do motion pictures transpose the characters from a well-established literary work into a cinematic narrative, replete with their own narrative potential? Can the resulting film be regarded as an entirely new creation? To explore these questions, we have selected Aki Kaurismäki's 1983 cinematic adaptation of Fyodor Dostoevsky's Crime and Punishment. The primary objective of this study is to ascertain whether the characters from a literary work undergo a transformation into new personas, enriched by the narrative possibilities inherent to cinema. Kaurismäki's adaptation of Crime and Punishment transposed the narrative to a more contemporary era and streamlined the cast of characters, with the film director imparting his distinctive touch to their transformation. In Kaurismäki's rendition of Crime and Punishment, a metafictional dimension emerges, blurring the boundaries of narrative levels. The film's characters comport themselves as if intimately acquainted with the original novel's story and characters. While maintaining fidelity to the foundational narrative, a novel artistic creation takes shape, wherein the characters exhibit a profound awareness of their origins within the original literary work.