Novel, Screenplays Enrich Viewing Of Films

Sometime over the next few weeks, or months, a trio of movies probably will play the Magic Lantern. There’s nothing special about them, other than the fact that they are well-regarded examples of the art-house circuit.

But they do stand out in one way: You can read them before you see them.

“The Postman” (Hyperion, 118 pages, $9.95 paperback), a film in Italian (with English subtitles) by director Michael Radford, is based on the novel by Chilean writer Antonio Skarmeta. On the surface a romance, Skarmeta’s story involves the fictional relationship between real-life Chilean poet Pablo Neruda and a figment of Skarmeta’s imagination, a postman named Mario Jimenez.

Jimenez, who delivers the poet’s mail, befriends Neruda and enlists him in his quest to win the affections of the beautiful Beatriz.

But both book (which was published in 1985 as “Ardiente Paciencia”) and movie are more than mere love story. Set in the time of Chilean darkness, during the 1973 military overthrow of Salvador Allende’s elected government, the book serves as a metaphor for Chile’s long struggle for freedom.

The main difference: The book is set on an island off the coast of Chile; the film, which is scheduled to open at the Magic Lantern on Sept. 1, is set in Italy.

And then there’s “Smoke” and “Blue In the Face,” two films by Wayne Wang that Hyperion is publishing as screenplays. Magic Lantern co-owner Larry Blair says “Smoke” is scheduled to open on either Sept. 8 or 15, while he has yet to give “Blue In the Face” a specific date.

It’s fitting that Hyperion is publishing the two screenplays. Why? Because both films, but “Smoke” in particular, are as much the work of writer Paul Auster as they are director Wang.

“Smoke” takes place in a cigar shop in Brooklyn and involves the proprietor, Auggie (Harvey Keitel), and the crowd that hangs out there. Included in that number is a writer, Paul (William Hurt), who befriends a young high-school-aged kid on the run from a pair of murderous street hoods.

“Blue In the Face” is something different. While “Smoke” is heavily plotted, it is more of a Brooklyn documentary. Much of the action, in fact, is simply the result of interviewing such New York types as musician Lou Reed and filmmaker Jim Jarmusch.

The rest is improvisation by some of the same actors in “Smoke,” including Keitel and Giancarlo Esposito, and new cast members such as Roseanne, Michael J. Fox, Madonna and Lily Tomlin.

Passing history

Spokesman-Review writer/editor Susan English recently interviewed Bellingham history writer JoAnn Roe, who has a new book on the market.

And this is what she has to say:

“Stevens Pass: Railroads and Recreation in the North Cascades” (Mountaineers, $12.95), which covers the history of the Great Northern Railway through Stevens Pass, should delight railroading buffs.

The book isn’t limited, however, to the single subject. The content includes ski-jumping competitions and the ski industry in the pass, plus Wenatchee Indian history.

Roe has four books for adults and three for children on the market. Two more new books, which should be in stores by September, include “Seattle Uncovered” (Seaside Press, $12.95) and “Ghost Camps & Boom Towns” (Montevista Press, $14.95). Neither is meant to be a guidebook; rather each offers up interesting historical tales and stories told by the locals.

Just for families

“Discover Washington & Seattle With Kids” (Johnson Associates, 271 pages, $16.95 paperback) is a tour guide for families written by Rosanne Cohn and Suzanne Monson.

Johnson Associates, a Medina, Wash.-based publishing house, also published “The Spokane Guidebook” by Spokane resident Mary Buckham.

The new book concentrates on traveling with children aged 3 to 13, but be warned: Some of the book’s listings are outdated.

On page 234, for example, Spokane’s Discovery Zone is rated as a fun play alternative when “wet weather sets in.”

There’s just one problem: The Discovery Zone closed its doors in January, nine long months ago.

The reader board

Keith Peterson, author of “River of Life, Channel of Death: Fish and Dams on the Lower Snake” (Confluence Press, 321 pages, $20 paperback), will read from his book at 7:30 p.m. Monday at Auntie’s Bookstore, Main and Washington. Peterson will also give a lecture as part of Cheney Cowles Museum’s “Rivers and Dams” series at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday at the museum, 2316 W. First.

New Orleans mystery writer James Lee Burke, author of “Burning Angel” (Hyperion Books, 340 pages, $22), will read from the book at 7:30 p.m. Thursday at Auntie’s Bookstore. Burke’s previous book in the Dave Robicheaux series, “Dixie City Jam,” was a best-seller.

, DataTimes