"The music is just beautiful," said director Diana Stugger. "It just touches your heart � and the characters touch your heart. For all the magic in it, and all the wonder in it, there's such a simplicity in it."
Saint-Exup�ry (1900-1944) was a French writer and pilot who went down with his plane during World War II. Most of his writings were for adults and conveyed his love for the open skies, the desert and freedom. "The Little Prince," his best-known work, which he wrote and illustrated, is intended for children.
The enigmatic tale opens on the Sahara Desert where a plane has crashed. The pilot awakens to find a young boy staring at him. The mysterious child regales the pilot with the tale of his journey to various planets, where he meets strange and magical characters � The King, The Vain Man, The Lamplighter, The Businessman, The Snake, The Fox, The Water and Roses � each offering an unexpected lesson on life.
When the Pilot finally accepts the Little Prince, the boy presents himself to The Snake to be conveyed back to his home planet and his beloved Rose.
"There's something ambiguous about The Snake," Stugger said. "You never really know � I still don't know � what Saint-Exup�ry intended of the snake. Obviously, he's a version of death. But if that's all he is, there's a real darkness behind this. The Snake does supposedly take the Little Prince on the journey back to his planet.
"The question is: Does he die in that transformation The Snake promises, or does he make it back to the planet?"
She cites the scene when the Little Prince discovers how important The Rose, whom he left on his planet, is to him.
"He realizes that 'It's my rose. I'm responsible for my rose,'" Stugger said. "All of a sudden, from being unhappy because she is like every other rose, he realizes that because he loves her and cares for her that she is special. Portman wrote a wonderful crescendo on the word 'rose.'
"I turned to the Little Prince and said, 'This is the moment that you realize this. This is the moment that brings you happiness.'"./ Source |
