Bridging the gap between short story cycles and film: a case study

• Autores: Aitor Ibarrola Armendariz
• Localización: The Short Story in English [Recurso electrónico]: crossing boundaries / Gema Soledad Castillo García (ed. lit.), María Rosa Cabellos Castilla (ed. lit.), Juan Antonio Sánchez Jiménez (ed. lit.), Vincent Carlisle Espínola (ed. lit.), 2006, ISBN 8481387096, págs. 468-485
• Idioma: inglés
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• Resumen

  • The aim of this paper is two-fold. The first part proposes a tentative outline of a new area of research and activity which presents immense potential for anybody versed in literary and film studies, namely, the translation of short story cycles into film. As becomes clear throughout my discussion, writers of short story sequences tend not to use the kind of unifying conventions that we are familiar with in novels and plays. Instead, elements such as collective identities, the spirit of the place, lines of images or rhythm seem to provide a great deal of the consistency and coherence observable in this genre. As a result, in order to carry out a successful adaptation from literature into film, one needs to be especially aware of the patterns and techniques that are most effective in each. The second part of the paper offers a case study in which Robert Altman’s movie Short Cuts (1993) is analyzed in some detail to elucidate in which regards his adaptation of Raymond Carver’s stories is satisfactory and in which others his film reveals a number of shortcomings. Ultimately, two things become quite evident at the close of my discussion: a) It is never easy or unproblematic to translate a short story cycle into film, and b) The knowledge provided by a specialist in both media is usually invaluable to succeed in this transference.