The number of books adapted for movies is of course countless, resulting in films ranging from the extremely popular (To Kill a Mockingbird) to the universally disliked (A Wrinkle in Time).
It does, however, lead to a general rule: the film is rarely faithful to the book. This may be because the book defies adaptation.
For example, despite several attempts The Great Gatsby has proven simply unfilmable because it is virtually impossible to make a film in which the narrator is arguably the most important character even though he has very little agency in the plot. More common is the determination of the filmmaker to alter the book so it will have greater box office appeal. Such, one suspects, is the case with The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind, currently available on Netflix.
It is necessary to point out that the film is an interesting, well-told, and often inspiring account of the life of the young William Kamkwamba. A genius with a thirst for learning, William educates himself through the few books available to him in his poverty-stricken village in Malawi. Intrigued by his discovery of windmills, he sets out to build one from the scraps available to him. His ultimate achievement brought him worldwide fame and success as a scholar.
To the extent that the film’s narrative arc is faithful to the facts of Kamkwamba’s achievement, it provides a remarkable account of a person reaching a goal against almost impossible odds. As one would expect of director Chiwetel Ejiofor, who also directed 12 Years a Slave and The Martian – films with very similar themes – the story is well handled, allowing the viewer not only to share in the boy’s amazing achievement but also to gain insight into the hard life of the people of Malawi as they struggle to eke out a living, largely on a diet of maize, and try to rise above poverty through an education which is often unaffordable. As a view of another culture and lifestyle completely different from that which we in the West enjoy, The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind is both salutary and challenging.
To further that sense of cultural identity, Ejiofor and Bryan Mealer (who co-wrote the autobiography on which the film is based) have chosen to have much of the dialogue spoken in the Chichewa language. The subtitles may at times be a little challenging, but the dialogue and the impeccable casting admirably convey a sense of place. It is indeed a stirring and worthy film. The question remains, however, whether it is a faithful adaptation of the book and of William Kamkwamba’s story.
Perhaps simply to give the film more relevance to Western audiences, a considerable amount of time is given to the political situation in which events take place, though this is far from central to the book’s narrative. Similarly, a subplot involving William’s sister and her romantic involvement with a young teacher again distracts from the book’s main concern: the way in which William builds his windmill.
In some ways, the film is misleading. While it was true that William’s parents could not afford school fees, forcing him to drop out of school, he continued to teach himself by accessing the few books available to him in the meagre village library – without aid from the school librarian. Similarly, the bicycle, which became an essential part of the windmill, was a disused piece of machinery, not an essential part of his father’s life. Even the obtaining of a bicycle dynamo is made more dramatic than it was in reality, while the real debt that William owed to his boyhood friend and ally is omitted. One supposes that such changes have been made to lend the film a greater sense of drama. At the same time, the horrors of starvation brought about by drought, while definitely a vital part of the film, are made even more real and horrifying in the book.
Much of what the book concentrates on, however, is unfortunately skimmed over. One can argue that viewers are not likely to be interested at length in the ingenuity which William brought to his problem-solving. The book explains in arresting detail how William’s inventive brilliance helped him to achieve success. And surely there is considerable drama in William making a screwdriver from a pop can, in using discarded machine parts to build a fuse box and light switch, in taking every possible opportunity to pursue his dream despite the obstacles that beset him. All of this is very much part of the book and given only cursory attention in the film, yet I cannot but think it would have been possible to make an equally compelling film while showing all of this. Indeed, William’s original goal was not (as the film implies) to make a windmill to pump water, but to generate electric light so that he could study at night and his family would not be required to go to bed because it was dark.
In short, the film The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind is certainly to be highly recommended, but one hopes that a viewing of the film will prompt the audience to read the bestselling book on which it is based; the book says many of the same things as the film but allows for a far better insight into William Kamkwamba’s achievement. And if, like me, you are hugely impressed by that achievement, you might wish to look him up on TED Talks, where one can not only discover the great achievements that lay ahead after the windmill was built but also learn more about the simple and humble man who was responsible for them, as well as some of the other impressive things he has gone on to do. He truly is a hero for our times, and his story is indeed one to inspire and impress people of all ages.