Midnight's Children

My favorite book in a long, long time, now a movie. I can't imagine how the enormity of Salman Rushdie's Midnight's Children can possibly be cinematized in a coherent way, but I'm still eager to re-experience Rushdie's genius---the best novel I know that illustrates the power of fiction above all genres to capture history, religion, philosophy, politics, and the ethics of human relationships in a total, comprehensive, and compelling way. Genius, Genius, Genius!

Postscript: So I have now seen Midnight's Children, the movie. Beautiful! Salman Rushdie wrote the screenplay and served as the film's narrator, and his genius shines more radiantly than ever. The colors, the culture, the history, the drama, the tragedy, and the mythology of India/Pakistan/Bangladesh are evident in every scene. The acting is beautiful. The script is beautiful. The cinematography is beautiful. The story is beautiful. In a world where our media is increasingly banal, twisted, and vulgar, this film gave me so much artistic inspiration and hope for a beautiful and nuanced and intelligent world. I sat through the closing credits in awe over the film's epic yet tragic beauty. The closing line of the film: "And our lives have been, in spite of everything, acts of love…"