Lord Jim (1965)

Lord Jim

By manfred  Feb 23, 2001

The novel "Lord Jim" from Joseph Conrad is a
romantic tale of guilt and fate. It is for sure
THE masterpiece in literature about the hopes
and dreams of the young ones and the illness of
their souls when discovering the imperfection of the world - even and especially within them.
Jim, a young naval officer, abandons his ship
in a moment of cowardice. For the rest of his
life he is in search for a second chance to
redeem his honour.
In the early sixties Richard Brooks took the
risk of adapting this story for the screen and
he did a splendid job.
It is absolutely impossible to compete with the
novel, but there are many touching moments
throghout the movie. Especially the first part
gives Jim (sensitively played by Peter O´Toole)
the chance of introducing the audience to Jim´s
moral problems. Many scenes (mainly in the first and last quarter of the movie) are
touching and will stay in our memory.
Exceptionally well played and with the sad
wisdom of the older ones we can look and listen
to fine acting, for example when Jim holds
himself from jumping one more time - from the
burning boat in an Eastern sea-port, and when
Jim recognizes that he has proven his courage
again, being applaused by other people after
long suffering from such opportunities.
And shortly after: Before and when Jim visits
Mr. Stein. Very tense and romantic scenes!
Stein (extremly talented played by Paul Lukas)
is the father-figure in the movie as well as
in the novel.
Other famous actors are James Mason, Eli Wallach, Jack Hawkins, Daliah Lavi and Curd
Juergens. All of them are remarkable, in many
ways it is even one of the best performances
of their life-time.
The middle part of the movie pays tribute to
the producers and the audience in some instances, wo prefer battleing and fights.
But still it is above most of the productions
made in this time (the film was shot in 1963
in Cambodia and Hongkong).
During the movie the excellent soundtrack of
Bronislau Kaper gives an extra moment and
feeling to the action on the screen.
The end of the tale (in the novel and in the
film) is straight-forward as well as dramatic.
In perfect silence Jim renews his dreams of
being extraordinary: He will not jump again,
he simply gives his life in exchange for his
personal honour.
In general: One of the great masterpieces in
literature turned into a great and very
touching piece of movie-history.