The fragment and the arrest. Literature and cinema in Juan Jose Saer

Abstract

What is the relationship between modern literature and cinema? What kind of films do writers have in mind? What does writing take from images? Strongly influenced by narrative innovations of modern literature, the work of Juan Jose Saer hasn’t escaped to the magnetic appeal of cinema. But although he uses cinematographic techniques to break up with classical narration in literature, he never adopts the model of dominant cinema. On the contrary, he takes advantage of the idea of fragmentation and stop motion (that constitute the basis of films) to give birth to a new form of literature. But if Saer uses cinema in its negative form, then how to produce film adaptations from his literary work? How is it possible to transform words into images without falling in a mere illustration that would eliminate every tension and would neutralize every contrast? This essay connects literature and cinema in order to reflect on the ways Saer’s writing has used film devices and the ways in which films have adapted their novels.