Screening the Latin American Novel (2010)

Hollywood Adaptations

There have been a few mainstream (or near mainstream) Hollywood adaptations of Latin American texts:
--- Old Gringo (1989, directed by Luis Puenzo) from Carlos Fuentes' 1985 novel of the same name.
--- Tune in Tomorrow (1990, directed by Jon Amiel) from Vargas Llosa's 1977 novel Aunt Julia and the Scriptwriter.
--- The House of the Spirits (1993, directed by Billie August) from Isabel Allende's 1982 novel of the same name.
--- Death and the Maiden (1994, directed by Roman Polanski) from his Ariel Dorfman's 1991 play of the same name. (The play may have originally been originally written in English-it was premiered in London in 1991).
--- Before Night Falls (2001, directed by Julian Schnabel) from Reinaldo Arenas' memoirs
--- Love in the Times of Cholera (2007, directed by Mike Newell) from Gabriel García Márquez's 1985 novel of the same name.
The most successful critically of these is Before Night Falls, which, however is not based on fiction. The rest are generally considered failures, though, it must be pointed out, high toned ones. (Polanski is, of course, a major director; August had collaborated with Ingmar Bergman; Puenzo had won an Oscar in 1986 for the masterful Argentine film The Official Story).
The only film that aimed strictly for mainstream commercial success is Tune in Tomorrow. It changed the setting of Vargas Llosa's novel from Lima, Peru to New Orleans-I guess it's the most "Latin" city in the US-and, as the change of title indicates, downplayed its links with the Vargas Llosa novel.
While the freedom in adapting Aunt Julia and the Screenwriter could have been inspired by strictly filmic needs--when your main actors are Barbara Hershey and Keanu Reeves, it makes sense to set the movie in the US--it can also be seen as a direct reflection on the relative lack of cultural capital embodied in Vargas Llosa's novel. Loeve in the Time of Cholera, a novel beloved by many, required from the filmmakers a much higher level of fidelity. The international reputation of Garcia Marquez is, therefore, also represented in the fidelity of the adaptation of one of his most beloved novels.