Love Turned a "Controversial Work," Revenge Turned an "Epic"... Immortal Classics Sweep the Big Screen

Radical Deconstruction of the Classics vs Orthodox "Restoration"
Targeting the "Z+Alpha" Generation Beyond Older Viewers' Nostalgia

Still from the film "Wuthering Heights"

Immortal classics are clashing in movie theaters. They are Emily Bronte's "Wuthering Heights," regarded as one of the most intense tragedies in the history of English literature, and French literary giant Alexandre Dumas' "The Count of Monte Cristo." Their screen adaptations, one armed with radical deconstruction and the other with overwhelming fidelity, once again prove the vitality of the classics.

The American film "Wuthering Heights," released on February 11, revives the shock of the 1847 original that shook the stern moralism of the Victorian era, reinterpreting it with a contemporary sensibility. Bronte lays bare the madness and hatred lurking behind love. Emerald Fennell, who won the Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay with "Promising Young Woman" (2021), borrows this subversive energy but completely twists the mode of expression. She strips away the solemnity of the classic and fills it with provocative mise-en-scene.

The tragedy of Cathy (Margot Robbie) and Heathcliff (Jacob Elordi) in a remote mansion on the desolate Yorkshire moors is reworked like a sleek fashion editorial. Director Fennell attempts an experiment that visualizes their blind passion through the physical properties of space. In particular, the latex walls modeled after Margot Robbie's skin texture and the bizarre decorations that look as if they are woven from hair blur the boundary between beauty and discomfort. Some critics argue that the raw depth of the original has evaporated into a mere sequence of images, but the assessment that it has revived the classic's destructive instinct through contemporary maximalism is equally persuasive.

Film still from 'Wuthering Heights'

In contrast to "Wuthering Heights," which delves into the abyss of the inner self and courts controversy, the French film "The Count of Monte Cristo," arriving in theaters on February 13, chooses a straightforward approach that maximizes the power of narrative. It superbly visualizes Dumas' masterpiece, which perfected the archetype of the revenge drama: unjust imprisonment, escape, and merciless judgment. While densely condensing the vast story into a 178-minute running time, it offers a model answer that does not compromise the dignity of the original.

Among all the film adaptations of "The Count of Monte Cristo" to date, this one mobilized the largest production budget (about 64 billion won) to bring to life the romance and tragic grandeur of the 19th century, while its brisk pacing delivers the visceral pleasures of a modern genre film. Lead actor Pierre Niney also portrays in three dimensions the transformation from a pure young man into a cold-blooded arbiter of justice, awakening the embodiment of vengeance that had been confined to the printed page.

The return of these classics is no coincidence. A renewed craze for reading classic literature in the English-speaking world and Europe has prompted the film industry to seize on it as a new box-office code. According to statistics from the publishing sector in English-speaking countries, sales of classic novels over the past two years have steadily increased in tandem with the "Dark Academia" trend, which romanticizes a vintage, intellectual atmosphere. In Korean theaters as well, this could become a catalyst not only for stirring the nostalgia of older generations but also for drawing in the 20s–30s "Z+Alpha" generation, who are immersed in retro culture.

Film still from 'The Count of Monte Cristo'

What is intriguing is how sharply the two films' responses to this trend diverge. One boldly deconstructs the original to generate buzz, while the other sublimates the gravitas of the source material into massive spectacle to achieve genre perfection. This clearly illustrates the differing perspectives of Hollywood and Europe in their treatment of the classics.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.