Discuss the issues posted in the Discussion Section, namely “How does the film you found reflect

the novel,
if it does? Are the issues of nationalism as prominent as in the novel?”

I watched the 1989 movie that was produced by Masterpiece Theatre and directed by Philippe
Monnier. I thought that while the movie did an absolutely fantastic job of recreating the plot
and story that a lot of the smaller conversations and quips that added depth to the issues of
nationalism were missing from the movie. Obviously there were still parts of the movie that
dealt with nationalism, as it was a faithful adaptation of the text; however, the direction was
focused more on telling a moving story that resonated with audiences’ emotions than on
conveying the subtler subtext concerning nationalism that Dickens peppered the novel with.
This was a combination of the script writers choosing specific conversations to include and not
others, and the directors deciding to focus the scenes that did have potential to give
commentary on nationalism on the emotional connection and narratives of the characters. In a
sense, this movie version of “A Tale of Two Cities” was more Dickensian than the novel itself – it
focused more on creating interesting and realistic characters than it did on conveying the socio-
historical commentary Dickens uncharacteristically tried to add into A Tale of Two Cities. In
summation: the issues of nationalism are present in this movie version, but I didn’t see them as
being nearly as prominent as they were in the book.