Film analysis in El abecedario of Federico Reyes Herole

Abstract

This article presents an approach to the literary work through the model of analysis between cinema and literature that operates in both directions, according to the theory of researcher and literary theorist Lauro Zavala. Although they are distinct disciplines, film adaptation is not the only form of interaction; others include narratological study and the analysis of subjectivity from the point of view, the latter being the most explored, alongside the application of literary theories to cinema. In this case, Federico Reyes Heroles’s novel El abecedario is analyzed here using Zavala’s narratological theory. This analytical approach relies on the personal experience of the viewer or reader, making each interpretation of a film or book unique and legitimate. The novel or film delivers information gradually as the action unfolds, fostering a complicity between the work and the reader or between the film and the viewer. This demonstrates how narratology between cinema and literature, according to Zavala, shares more commonalities than it might seem, as evidenced by his theory, which highlights mechanisms of suspense and surprise that shape the conclusion of the literary or cinematic work’s action, dispensed to the reader or viewer as the plot progresses. In conclusion, the relationship between Mexican literature and cinema is also evident, underscoring that subjectivity allows and acknowledges the personal experience of the viewer and reader, capturing details of the work’s reception that might elude other models.