Wes Anderson¡¯s The Swan, The Rat Catcher & Poison - Are These Short Films Based On True Events?
After the The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar, Wes Anderson also adapted three other works of Roald which are titled as The Swan, The Rat Catcher and Poison.
When people are seeking something to watch quickly, both short stories and movies have the power to hook them. But it's a challenge to make those few minutes worthwhile. Wes Anderson's adaptations of Roald Dahl's short stories reflect a good balance of grip, time, and more, as each recently released 17-minute film demonstrates perfection.
After the The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar, Wes Anderson also adapted three other works of the British writer Roald that are titled as The Swan, The Rat Catcher and Poison. All the tales have a distinctive story and the narration makes them stand out.
But did you know these stories actually have a hint of true events? Read on to know more!
The Swan
In the tale, a young outlaw named Ernie receives a rifle, and he and his companion Raymond set out to see what they can kill with it. While exploring, they stumble onto a kind young man named Peter Watson, and they torture him for entertainment one evening.
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Peter is made to wait for a speeding train while being tied to the nearby train rails by Ernie and Raymond. Peter gets through this. His hands are still bound as he is then brought to a lake. He is sent to retrieve the dead swan's body after the two lads take aim at it and kill it on the lake there. He is instructed to climb to the top of a willow, jump down, and spread the swan's wings before Ernie cuts them from the bird and attaches them to Peter's back. Ernie fires at Peter after he refuses to leap, injuring him in his leg.
What happens to Peter? Although this part here is open to interpretation in the short film, but as per the original book, Peter survives the torture.
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The Swan is based on a real story. The film concludes with a card that explains how a newspaper description of an actual event served as the story's inspiration. Before finally using the news piece for a story in October 1976, Dahl stored the news clipping in his "Ideas Book" for three decades. There are no records or suggestions of a similar incident that made it to the press, therefore it is unclear exactly what was the news piece actually about.
The Rat Catcher
A reporter (Richard Ayoade) and a mechanic (Friend) are in an English town listening to the Rat Man (Fiennes) rant about how cunning rats are and how you have to be smarter than a mouse to be able to catch them. The Rat Man, discusses how to catch both sewer rats and non-sewer rodents.
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And you can't help but note that the rat catcher seems more like a rat than anything else, complete with untidy hair, pale teeth, and a worn-out appearance. After numerous tries to get rid of the rodents, the rat catcher can be seen putting a rat close to his mouth. Although we cant see what happened next, he spits out some blood, indicating that he bit the rat to death.
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As told at the end of the film. Dahl's own small-town working life served as the inspiration for this tale of two men, played by Richard Ayoade and Rupert Friend, who engage a rat catcher to get rid of the rodents threatening a nearby hayrick and both of their businesses.
Poison
The setting of Poison is British-ruled India. When Woods (Dev Patel) gets home, he discovers Harry (Benedict Cumberbatch) lying still in bed. As a poisonous snake called a krait is curled up asleep on his tummy, he is resting quite still. To get rid of the snake, Woods contacts Dr. Ganderbai (Ben Kingsley), and the two experiment with a number of methods, including injecting Harry with anti-venom and giving the krait chloroform.
After this, the two tried to find the unconscious snake but could not find it.
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Whether Harry genuinely had a krait on his tummy is not explicitly addressed in the movie, but it is likely that the answer is not yes. Although Harry may have imagined the snake, his imagination influenced his reality. In addition, the krait might have crawled out in between the panic.
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According to a message at the end of the movie, Dahl started writing this fictional story in 1970 and gave the name Woods to Dev's character. Woods was a fellow RAF Squadron 80 pilot who died in the Battle of Athens. Thus, even if the plot is fiction, the character's name is based on actual occurrences.
¡®The Swan¡¯, ¡®The Rat Catcher¡¯, ¡®Poison¡¯ are currently streaming on Netflix
(To read more such stories related to movies and shows released on OTTs, keep reading Indiatimes BINGE)
Iraa Paul writes for Indiatimes Entertainment section - She has equal passion for hot coffee and hot OTT content. She is a pro at suggesting movies and series to watch on the weekend or when you are having a bad day.
