Aura, if not already one, should be made into a horror movie. The story being written in the rare second person, its minimal dialogue, and the precariousness of the story's setting, certainly make for blockbuster gold. Fuentes easily captures his reader's attention by instantly placing them in the dark windowless house with Felipe. We feel as if we are the one who must feel their way through the corridors, listen for Aura's dinner bell, and mind the countless rats at our feet. In addition, Fuentes captures his reader by facilitating uncertainty at the start of the story. In the opening of the book, when Felipe reads Senora Consuelo's newspaper advertisement and describes to "(seem) to be addressed to me and nobody else" (3). How could a general advertisement by a unknown seeker be so specific to Felipe? Fuentes enforces our skepticism when we enter Senora Consuelo's home. A windowless, light-less house adds physical uneasiness to our already increasing suspicion of the circumstances of Felipe's work for Senora Consuelo.
Directors would have to do little to change this story to fit the format of a film. Although they may attempt to place the film in the present day to further attract the audience, I think such a tactic would be a mistake. The antiquity of the story adds to the reader's overall feelings of uneasiness. The ambivalence in the setting, both geographically, and in relation to time, allow for even less to which the reader can comfortably grasp onto. The reader feels they must continue to read in the hopes of finding something more substantial with which they may anchor themselves. This feeling of being drawn forward in the story would certainly not be lost in a film version of this book, and perhaps may even more strongly attract the viewer with the help of visual representation in its blockbuster form.
I, too, thought that this novella would make for a captivating film adaptation. I don't know if I could see it as a Hollywood blockbuster, but I could definitely see it as a chilling independent short film. I looked it up to see if it had been done yet, and sure enough I found a short film adaptation (http://vimeo.com/18860046). Unfortunately, the film was quite disappointing. It's basically shows Felipe sitting in a coffee shop looking at Consuelo's advertisement and him walking down a dark street to the house for 5 minutes and 50 seconds. It is narrated in Spanish, so I couldn't understand it. But Felipe never enters the house and we never see Aura or Consuelo or any cats or rabbits or rats. I don't know if the narration in the film sheds any light on the lack of visual substance, but a lot of the uncanny creepiness of the novella was lost. I had assumed that having read the novel I wouldn't need to understand Spanish to appreciate a short film of it. I thought I could still experience the same suffocating, dreamlike tension that I felt reading the book. However, I didn't get that from this particular film. I still agree, however, that a very good movie can be made from this book if the director works with the elements of darkness and imagination that Fuentes perpetuates in the book.
ReplyDeleteI feel that the concept of this novella could be used in a film. But at the same time a director would need to take many creative liberties and add some to the story. I think that this story is too short and more importantly the idea of constant darkness is not the best for movies. On the other hand it might not be an awful idea to make a movie similar to that of The Blair Witch Product. This would create a low budget film and would better portray the second person format the book was written in. All in all it could be a decent film with the right director.
ReplyDeleteI completely agree. I think the spookiness and the mystery of the house would make a perfect scary movie plot. I also think that the fact that it is in 2nd person could also be played up in a film somehow and make the viewers of the movie just as intrigued as readers feel.
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