... his own romantic tendencies. Chabrol, by producing an overly-reverent, almost pageant-like homage to Flaubert, presents his audience with a film which is visually beautiful, yet strangely lifeless. In adapting Madame Bovary for the screen, both directors had to deal with what I term "the narrative problem"--how to create a coherent narrative structure in a cinematic version of a fictional work. A fictional narrative can ... how to make transitions. But they arrive at very different solutions. Minnelli's solution to the narrative problem is brilliant. He uses Flaubert's trial of 1857, wi...

• Word Count: 2372
• Approx Pages: 9
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: Undergraduate