Rodrigo Prieto, director of Pedro Páramo: Interweaving the past and present within the concept of circular time proved challenging

Interweaving the seamless transitions between past and present, which are closely intertwined in Juan Rulfo’s novel, proved to be a significant challenge in adapting Pedro Páramo for Netflix,” confessed renowned Mexican cinematographer Rodrigo Prieto to PRODU. The primary hurdle was to preserve the novel’s unique structural integrity within the 123-minute film format.

“It was complex to create these temporal shifts, where you suddenly jump back and forth in time. The challenge was to seamlessly connect these moments, making them feel almost simultaneous. While it’s clear that some events occurred in the past and others in the present, I used certain shots to link them, drawing on the concept of non-linear, circular time,” he explained.

Previous adaptations of Pedro Páramo (1967, 1977, 1981) had limited impact, reinforcing the notion that the novel was unadaptable. “The primary issue with past attempts, beyond budgetary constraints, was their failure to embrace the novel’s non-linear time structure,” observed screenwriter Mateo Gil. For two decades, Gil had been determined to adapt Pedro Páramo, and the Netflix project finally provided the opportunity to faithfully recreate the novel’s unique structure.

In this adaptation, the transitions between past and present unfold naturally, mirroring the coexistence of the living (or seemingly alive) and the dead, as well as Comala’s simultaneous decay and former glory.

Pedro Páramo, a Redrum and Woo Films production, produced by Stacy Perskie and Rafael Ley, premieres on Netflix on November 6th. Carlos Y. Jacques and Eugenio Caballero serve as production designers, while Ana Terrazas handles costume design. Gustavo Santaolalla composed the original score, and Severin Favriau is responsible for the sound design. The cast includes Manuel García Rulfo, Tenoch Huerta, Dolores Heredia, Ilse Salas, Héctor Kotsifakis, and Mayra Batalla.

ACTORS PLAYING OLD AND YOUNG

Another complex directorial challenge was guiding the actors to portray their younger and older selves convincingly, requiring distinct performances for each age. This involved ensuring that the characters aged believably.

Prieto explained that, in specific cases like Susana San Juan and Pedro Páramo, they employed other actors to portray the characters at ages 12 and 13. For older ages, they relied on makeup and prosthetics, while younger characters, utilized digital effects. “The challenge was to ensure that these techniques didn’t detract from the story or look artificial,” he noted.

Regarding Eduviges (Dolores Heredia), the character who introduces the story, Prieto explained: “The camera pans, taking us back in time to a younger Eduviges, introducing an element of innocence. We see her as a friend of Dolorita, Juan Preciado’s mother, sharing a special bond. It was crucial to capture that youthful attitude and the specific mannerisms of young girls at that time.” He added that they were careful to respect the accents and language of Rulfo’s texts, which proved challenging both for the actors and the adaptation process.

“For the adaptation, we retained a significant portion of the novel’s original dialogue, leaving little room for improvisation by the actors. The challenge was to deliver these lines in a way that felt authentic and natural,” explained Prieto.

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PLAYING DEAD CHARACTERS

“I liked the novel’s concept of these echoes of the past, characters who don’t realize they’re not alive. I wanted to maintain this in the film, showing them interacting with Juan Preciado as if they were present. For instance, Eduviges goes to the bar to prepare a meal for Juan Preciado, but there’s nothing there. It’s only when he touches the dust and feels a strange sensation that he realizes the situation. These subtle details highlight their otherworldly existence,” explained the director.

He commented that both readers of the novel and viewers of the film may wonder about Juan Preciado’s mortality. “It’s a work that raises more questions than it answers,” Prieto said.

He said that he took a significant risk with Juan Preciado’s death scene, making it more intense than the novel, where floating bodies, possibly ghosts, are implied. “To depict a healthy man dying of fear, we needed to show something truly terrifying. Inspired by various themes, I conceived the idea of floating bodies. While these scenes involve visual effects, the bodies are real people, not digital creations. To capture the image of naked, floating bodies, we had to conduct numerous tests and film them on a turntable against a blue screen, layering the footage for a complex effect.”

The mud woman effect was also complex, he argued. “Many might think I went overboard, but it’s in my nature. I grew up making monster movies on Super 8.”

TWO-HANDED PHOTOGRAPHY

He explained that he enlisted Nicolás Aguilar to handle the cinematography, as directing and shooting the film simultaneously would be too demanding. “While I didn’t want to completely relinquish control over the photography, as I’d always dreamed of capturing Pedro Páramo visually, we collaborated closely. We didn’t define strict roles; I focused on the overall design and lighting, while Nico contributed his ideas, and together we found the best approach for the project.”

Prieto has collaborated with renowned directors such as Pedro Almodóvar, Ang Lee, Oliver Stone, Julie Taymor, Spike Lee, Alejandro González Iñárritu, Cameron Crowe, Greta Gerwig, and Martin Scorsese. He has been nominated for an Academy Award for his cinematography work. However, Pedro Páramo marks his directorial debut. While he had envisioned himself as the cinematographer for his adaptation, he never anticipated directing it.

Based on Juan Rulfo’s literary masterpiece, the film follows Juan Preciado (Tenoch Huerta) on an illusory quest to claim the wealth of an unknown father. Upon arriving in Comala, the town where his father, Pedro Páramo (Manuel García-Rulfo), was said to have lived, Juan encounters only the haunting remnants of a place dominated by Páramo’s violent pursuit of power and his obsessive love for Susana San Juan (Ilse Salas). As Juan delves deeper into Comala, he begins to question the very existence of its inhabitants.

Watch the trailer