Portuguese director Tiago Guedes has adapted JM Coetzee's acclaimed Jesus trilogy into a film, Aquí, starring Manolo Solo and Alex Peláez as Simón and David, a pair of strangers who form an incidental father-son bond. The film is based on Coetzee's novels, The Childhood of Jesus, The Schooldays of Jesus, and The Death of Jesus, which follow the pair as they navigate a fictitious land and grapple with themes of identity, language, and social control. Guedes' adaptation aims to bring the complex, philosophical narrative to the screen.
Coetzee's Jesus trilogy consists of The Childhood of Jesus, The Schooldays of Jesus, and The Death of Jesus, which have been brought together in a 900-page narrative. The books follow Simón and David as they form a bond and navigate a new, fictitious land where they are assigned names and must adapt to a new language and culture. The story explores themes of fatherhood, identity, and conformity, raising questions about the nature of human relationships and the role of language in shaping our understanding of the world.
Aquí, the film adaptation of Coetzee's trilogy, has a runtime of three hours and 20 minutes, which Guedes had aimed to reduce from an initial four hours and 45 minutes. The film's narrative is rich in biblical allusion and philosophical enquiry, but occasionally loses momentum, particularly in its latter 90 minutes. Despite this, the film sustains intrigue, starting with a dystopian-like premise that follows Simón's determination to find David's mother or a suitable replacement.
The film's themes of fatherhood, identity, and conformity are explored through the characters of Simón and David, who navigate a sterile, panoptic landscape devoid of a score. The narrative is punctuated by abstract concepts and philosophical debates, which weigh down the film's natural thematic core. However, Manolo Solo's performance as Simón brings a compassionate emotional weight to the father-son relationship, capturing his complicated feelings about his involuntary role as a child's guardian.
The film's use of symbolism and biblical allusions adds depth to the narrative, with character names like Simón, David, and Inés holding undeniable biblical significance. The story's exploration of language and social control raises questions about the nature of human relationships and the role of language in shaping our understanding of the world. The film's aspect ratio changes throughout, tightening in on the characters as threats of conformity and illness close in on the family.
Literary critics and scholars suggest that giving into the trilogy's elusiveness is a valuable approach to the text, as it resists the search for a clear message. The film adaptation, however, leaves some seeds unplanted, making the spiritual gravity of the final act feel ungrounded in narrative context. Despite this, Aquí is a daring adaptation that challenges the audience through its runtime and symbolic essence.
Aquí is set to screen at the European Film Festival South Africa on 24 September, offering a fascinating subject of critique for avid readers of Coetzee. As a standalone feature, the film may leave viewers wondering whether its vague mythological logic was worth the three-hour commitment. Nevertheless, Guedes' adaptation is a thought-provoking exploration of Coetzee's complex narrative, bringing themes of fatherhood, identity, and conformity to the screen.
Key points
- The film adaptation of JM Coetzee's Jesus trilogy, Aquí, explores themes of fatherhood, identity, and conformity in a three-hour narrative.
- The film's use of symbolism and biblical allusions adds depth to the narrative, raising questions about the nature of human relationships and language.
- The film's runtime and philosophical debates may weigh down its natural thematic core, leaving some viewers wondering about its narrative momentum.
