Corso is joined on his "adventure" by "Irene Adler" (great name ((Marion))), his equal in many ways and a kindred spirit regarding (The Ark/Archeology)passions for not only books but, thankfully for this adventure especially, the heavenly/hellish subplot. Both females save the protagonist in the story literally and figuratively.
She's mid twenties and a frequent reminder of a past relationship gone bad because he had a one track mind...and was emotionally unavailable.
Mickiana said:
Coincidence or not? Is this where it may be subscribing to a formula? Or does it reflect a formula in life that is followed consciously or not? The parallel you have found is a type of inverse parallel. The Ceniza brothers are sort of cohorts of the devil, while Imam is willing to warn of God's wrath for those who disturb the Ark. Corso and Indiana are both questors for a prize - for Corso, beyond normal human experience (equality with God), for Indiana, beyond the mundane of life's normal satisfactions (fortune and glory). When I refer to Corso I do so to the movie character even though I have read the book. In a few ways I found the movie more satisfying than the book, which is unusual as it is normally the other way around.
That's the devilish part of the story! The ambiguity! The greatest trick the Devil ever played... The Ceniza brothers in the book and the film, do what they do for love of the craft, no matter what the book, (clearly referenced in the book). However the construct of the story puts the questions (including complicity and maybe duplicity)front and center and where the film emphasizes the supernatural is a REALITY, the book does not.
I always saw Imam as a neutral private contractor, a bibliophile if you will who merely informs them of the content they could not know for themselves. I never thought of him as partisan. Much the way I saw the Ceniza Brothers, (by the way, twins played by the same actor and composited in frame!).
In Raiders the supernatural is the payoff, and undeniable, but ambiguous till the end. In Ninth Gate it is sprinkled with varying degrees, and undeniable, always building towards the end. The beauty of the book is the battle between perception and reality. You don't know how the story will deal with these elements. Even at the very end there is doubt.