Review of ‘Pedro Páramo’: an admirable attempt to transfer a classic to the big screen
Director: Rodrigo Prieto | Script: Juan Rulfo, Mateo Gil | Cast: Manuel García-Rulfo (Pedro Páramo), Jardín Tenoch (El Precioso Juan), Dolores Heredia (Eduviges Dyada), Ilse Salas (Susana St. John), Héctor Kotsifakis (Fulgor Sedano), ea | Playing time: 130 minutes | Year: 2024
Pedro Páramo, a 1955 novel by Juan Rulfo, is a high point of Latin American literature and an early example of magical realism. This fragmentary, dreamlike novel deals with themes of guilt, power, and redemption, and inspired later, more famous works such as Gabriel García Márquez’s One Hundred Years of Solitude.
The new movie of the same name. Pedro Paramo is a visually stunning, but substantially variable, film adaptation of Rulfo’s iconic novel. The story broadly follows that of the novel: Juan Preciado, at the request of his dying mother, travels to the haunted town of Comala to find his estranged father, the tyrannical landowner Pedro Páramo. The town turns out to be populated by ghosts, trapped in the memories of a painful past shaped by the cruelty of Páramo.
Making jumps in time and different perspectives. Pedro Paramo complex and sometimes confusing. This structure, which attempts to preserve the novel’s layered narrative, sometimes verges on the inaccessible. Although the transition between scenes is sometimes abrupt, there is an admirable attempt to visually convey the spiritual and psychological depth of the novel, even if the plot occasionally falls apart as a result.
Prieto, known for his work as director of photography on films such as secret mountain but also the recent box office success Barbieshows his visual talent by creating a mysterious and desolate atmosphere that fits perfectly with the theme of the story. The dry, sun-drenched landscapes contrast with the dark interiors, creating a surreal feel that blurs the line between life and death.
Manuel Garcia-Rulfo, die of titelrol van Pedro Paramo plays, he doesn’t have the intimidating presence or intensity that could have made this role a legendary figure. The lack of a powerful appearance detracts from Páramo’s image as a man whose harsh and cruel personality oppressed and shaped the entire town.
Pedro Paramo is a visually intriguing film that attempts to capture the essence of magical realism, but stumbles in the narrative due to the fragmentary plot and the elusiveness of the lead role. New viewers unfamiliar with the novel’s legacy may have difficulty understanding the film’s complex structure. However, it remains a bold attempt to bring one of the most beloved works of Mexican literature to the screen, although it does not fully achieve its ambition.
Pedro Paramo can be seen in netflix.