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so good!!! was wiping away tears of laughter and was very moved. and props to the prop designer... will never forget the cursed ruthkanda pop art. and some clever commentary on the difficulty of adapting a novel for the screen
Feb 16, 2024
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I had a mutual back in the day who loved Viet Thanh Nguyen (he probably still does) so I am a little embarrassed that it took me this long to check out this adaptation.
So far itโs good and stylish and emotionally upsetting and I canโt wait to read the novel!
Nov 21, 2024
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Don't re-read the book first! Take the movie for what it is!
It's been 10 years or so since I read Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe. I remember really enjoying the book, but I spent the whole movie being like "wait, did this happen? is this new? why don't I remember this? wouldn't it have impacted me enough to remember reading it?". I really thought they must have changed a lot about the story, but eventually I forgot about comparing it to the book and just enjoyed the movie, and it was so good. It was really nice to not get hung up on the details I'd long forgotten anyway.
After looking it up online, I see some things were changed (and I do consider one of these changes to be a pretty substantial one, and it was upsetting to watch but I think it gave depth to one of the main characters and how his experience with accepting himself was different from the other's) but it was apparently a mostly faithful* adaptation. So I guess I just got to experience this beautiful story for the first time all over again! How many times do we find ourselves wishing we could do that?
Anyway some of the smaller supporting actors aren't the greatest but beyond that it's SUCH a good movie. I'd recommend getting your hands on the DVD (I checked it out from my library--that's a separate rec) because it has such a sweet, tender, and beautifully cinematic DELETED scene that I'm honestly hurt that they cut from the main movie. Also, I'm going to see if my library has the book available because I need to refresh myself on that clearly lol
*Okay someone on reddit thinks that the way Ari was impacted by Dante and then fell in love with Dante as a byproduct of that was "lost" in the movie compared to the book? But I definitely disagree, because I picked up on that tonight for sure. And there are some other really minor complaints regarding characterization and even the set dressing? "The big mirror in his room doesn't make sense" bestie it's on screen for 2 seconds and no one ever mentions it, it's not important! You're dinging the movie for that? So despite this person who says "85% of the movie is bad," I think if you read and loved the book as a teenager, you should definitely watch the movie as soon as you can. <3
3d ago
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Incredible satire that was adapted into American Fiction. The movie is good but the book is way better
Jun 11, 2025
Top Recs from @maya_kal_
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Experimental (translated) Italian novel about feeding and queer love and desire. No punctuation but tons of mouthwatering descriptions of food. https://www.andotherstories.org/the-hunger-of-women/
Jan 29, 2024
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Instead of reaching for my phone in those spare 2 mins here and there when out & about, I have started carrying a paperback of poems in my coat pocket and reading a poem instead of opening some dumb app
Jan 29, 2024