Debra Thompson

September 24, 2020

INTL3111-001
Professor Arnold
The Guest vs. Far from Men
As the trailer for Far from Men directed by David Oelhoffen starts, there are significant
differences from the story The Guest by Albert Camus including: the narratives, the plots, and
the themes of the storylines. In the reading, the theme is driven by morality in contrast to the
trailer, the plotline was driven by the limits of human knowledge. Both use the geographical
distances and time period as imagery to show the differences of worlds and the struggles
amongst the characters to give the tone of the plot.
In the story “The Guest” and the trailer, they both introduce the main characters: Daru
the schoolmaster, Balducci the soldier, and the Arab the prisoner in a deserted region among
plateaus outside of two territories where war is stirring. Daru is given the task to take the Arab
on a voyage to Tinguit to surrender himself.
Although, the story was based on morality by the narrative with the protagonist, Daru,
was given the question to himself on whether he should let the Arab go or not. In the trailer,
Daru has followed a group of others based around the theme of limits of human knowledge in
which he only knows that the Arab is a prisoner of a crime he has committed. Daru and the Arab
join another group of voyager’s journey on their way to Tinguit. When voyaging they come
across soldiers and begin fighting with them, which is where the storyline's tone changes
narratives within the story and trailer.
The tone within the story shows a great misunderstanding of how the protagonist portrays
himself. In the beginning of the story, he seemed to accept where he stood in his isolated area,
but when the Arab came, he became confused about his knowledge of himself and how he has
lived alone within that region for so long. What gave that away was a warning at the end of the
story where there was a written message on a blackboard in which it told him he’d pay the
consequences for turning in the Arab. In the trailer, Daru gains power within himself to fight for
what he believed in. The tone starts off calm and mysterious, emphasizing the journey with the
limited knowledge between the characters and towards the end it shows the endangerment of
both Daru and the Arab.
As a result, Daru and the Arab’s relationship grew closer. The Arab opened up about his
life and why he had to kill his cousin creating a shift in the storyline. This shift started an internal
 Debra Thompson
September 24, 2020
INTL3111-001
Professor Arnold
war in Daru of self vs. world, which now convinces Daru to save the Arab instead of turning him
in.