International Journal of Language & Linguistics

Volker Schlöndorff's Nameless Day: The Literary Adapter Goes Noir
Dr. George Lellis, Dr. Hans-Bernhard Moeller

Abstract
Nameless Day extends Volker Schlöndorff’s film oeuvre of the literary adaption to a televisual version of Friedrich Ani’s highly acclaimed eponymous crime novel. Not only the novel but also the made-for-television film differs from the usual detective story in that they explore the damaging effects of observing violence. Jakob Franck, the detective, in the movie becomes a character who is able to lead victims of violence to healing and closure. Schlöndorff overlays Ani’s narrative with a visual approach that pays homage to the classic German films of the 1920s and to the Hollywood film noir. Although Schlöndorff makes changes in the time frame and location of the narrative, as well as the chronology and ending, he preserves those themes of the book that relate to silence and communication. Further, he creatively triangulates this dichotomy by adding components that demonstrate how visual expression can both confront and reduce alienation.

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