El paraíso perdido: La adaptación a la pantalla de Las viudas de los jueves

In 2005, Claudia Piñeiro published Las viudas de los jueves, a novel about the life in “countries” (gated neighborhoods) in the greater Buenos Aires, and in 2009, Marcelo Piñeyro adapted it to the screen. Athough Mavi, a real estate agent, describes life there as a paradise, we see that problems and hypocrisy dominate throughout the film. Piñeyro utilizes various cinematographic techniques to underscore the economic dichotomy between the “inside” and the “outside” and to emphasize the themes of sex and death. Dudley Andrew emphasizes the importance of “the sociology and aesthetics of adaptation,” and Piñeyro’s film, just like the original novel, reflects what sociological studies by Svampa and Castelo reveal about life in the “countries.” In addition, the film is made in a moment in which Argentina’s economic problems continue. Although Piñeiro’s work is not a detective novel, the structure of the two texts have elements in common with that genre. Although the film version does not have the moral weight of the original narrative, the film makes us see that life in the “countries” can be paradise lost.