Ashes in the Snow on October 12th, 2018 In 1941, a 16 year-old aspiring artist and her family are deported to Siberia amidst Stalin's brutal dismantling of the Baltic region. One girl's passion for art and her never-ending hope will break the silence of history.
Fun fact, I’ve never written a movie review before. So, if you’re looking for a critical analysis, you won’t find that here. I’m sharing my thoughts because of my love for the book, and now the movie.
General Thoughts
I was beyond excited when I found out that Between Shades of Gray, now Ashes in the Snow, was having a movie adaptation. My love for this book is immense, and I was curious on how it would be brought out on-screen. Overall, I am happy to say I’m pleased, but there are always gripes, right?
Honestly, what I felt was missing was the connection to Lina. In the book, we get a front row seat into her thoughts, and how everything happening was affecting her. I didn’t SEE that in the movie. Had i just watched the movie without reading the book, I wouldn’t have known much about her, her family, etc. Maybe that was the point? Either way, the slight disconnect was there.
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Casting
I’m not picky on casting, but I did have a very vivid picture of the characters whist reading, and the casting is well done. Bel Powley is Lina through and through.
Actually, I thought every character was well-chosen and brought each character, as I imagined, to light. This couldn’t have been an easy one to film, as it wasn’t each to watch or read about, and so I applaud them all.
In Comparison
I wont be naive to say that rewriting a script for a movie is easy, and I know that things generally change during the adaptation due to screen time, story development, etc. But I do feel that there were key elements from the book that were missing, that I felt were important enough to be in the movie, just to name a few (warning, Spoilers):
- Relationship development between Lena and Andrius.
- Jonas illness.
- The early discovery of their father at the train.
- The ending changed.
That being said, overall I felt it stuck to the main points of the book, which I am happy about.
Overall
I’m glad I was able to see it – and thought overall, it was well done. If you haven’t seen it, I HIGHLY recommend reading the book first! Obviously.
Tell me your thoughts
- Have you read the book, Between Shades of Gray? If so, what did you think?
- Have you seen the movie? What are your thoughts?
Tonyalee is an avid reader, gym junkie, coffee addicted workaholic, and blogger. Be sure to follow on Twitter & Instagram for random shenanigans.
Shannon @ It Starts at Midnight
I skipped the spoiler section because I REALLY want to read the book first (so I am glad to see you say that I definitely should, I will!) but I also am super glad that the movie is worth it too! I am sad that it’s been so under-hyped too- I legit didn’t know it existed until a couple weeks ago, what even!?
tonyalee
I should have used a tag, but oh well LOL
I found out like, two weeks before it was released and I was totally shocked! It was very under hyped. But yes, READ THE BOOK!
Laura Thomas
I need to read the book before I watch the movie. Even if the movie doesn’t exactly follow the book, I feel like I have some insight into what drives the characters. Thanks for the fabulous review!
tonyalee
I agree, if I find that a movie is based on a book, it’s a compulsion to read it first!
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