Essay On Buñuel's Adaptation Of Tristana

In any criticism of a work of art, particularly with reference to literary and cinematic arts, form and function are inseparable. Changes in form have a direct impact on the content of any piece and the same can be said the other way around. Eco 's analysis that with change of expression becomes inevitable changes to content stands to reason when examining Buñuel 's adaptation of Tristana. Coming out in 1970, 78 years after Galdos ' original text, the film is set in very different times, with different themes and is used to convey a different message. Tristana in both cases is the story of a girl whose mother dies, and a reputable old man Don Lope becomes her guardian. He starts to romance her blurring the line between father and husband. When Tristana falls in love with a painter named Horacio, Don Lope has to come to terms with the sexual liberty that he preached. Though both pieces have the same plot line, they are vehicles to convey different messages about the societies of there time. With this variation there is an inevitable effect on the content of Buñuel 's film. I will be discussing these changes in content and form. Firstly, it is important to contextualise the creators

Tristana is does not seem to have the same innocence as she does at the beginning of the novel, and in addition to this she becomes a far darker character than her literary other. She becomes cold and unrelenting as Don Lope becomes more accepting of her wishes which climaxes with her decision to speed Don Lope 's death. There is also the scene in which she exposes herself to Saturno, defiant and emotionless. This once again relates back to Buñuel 's ideology behind making the film. In killing Don Lope she is casting of the patriarchal oppression that she once suffered. In exposing herself to Saturno she is going against the catholic doctrine and modesty that it called