To retell ‘Pedro Páramo,’ director Rodrigo Pietro went on his own journey to the past

As I delve into the captivating tale of Rodrigo Prieto, a director whose journey mirrors that of his protagonist Juan Preciado, I am struck by the profound intertwining of personal and artistic expression. Born and raised in Mexico City, Prieto’s roots run deep within the very soil he chose to unearth for his latest masterpiece, “Pedro Páramo.

In the sprawling green expanses of Martin Scorsese’s “Killers of the Flower Moon” film location, Rodrigo Pietro – the renowned cinematographer who was nominated for an Oscar – unexpectedly received a call from Netflix. This streaming service had just acquired the rights to turn the Mexican novel “Pedro Páramo” into a movie, and they were offering him his first opportunity as a director.

The 58-year-old filmmaker casually mentioned, “I didn’t give it much thought at the time.” If he had pondered over it more, perhaps he might have hesitated. Instead, he agreed, under the impression that it would take place years later. Surprisingly, it occurred quite swiftly.

While immersed in filming scenes featuring Margot Robbie as Barbie skating through Venice and Ryan Gosling’s musical performance as Ken, Pietro found himself preoccupied with the haunting narrative of “Pedro Páramo.” Simultaneously, he was evaluating scripts for the classic novel. Before long, Pietro had stepped into the director’s role, a new experience for him, overlooking a seemingly abandoned ghost town in rural Mexico.

Pietro viewed directing Netflix’s “Pedro Páramo,” released on November 6, as a logical progression to broaden his creative horizons. Ever since he read Juan Rulfo’s 1955 novel in high school, the story has held a special significance for him. Despite the challenges posed by die-hard Rulfo fans and three previous failed adaptations, Pietro draws upon his intimate knowledge of the text, its cultural relevance, and modern technology to bring a screen interpretation to life that complements the chilling narrative.

Among the pioneering pieces of magical realism and a precursor to Gabriel García Márquez’s “One Hundred Years of Solitude,” this narrative centers around a man named Juan Preciado. He ventures to the town of Comala, motivated by a quest to find his father, Pedro Páramo. In this ghost town, Juan uncovers his father’s past through an unusual sequence of supernatural interactions that do not follow a linear timeline.

As a teenager, Rulfo’s depictions of eerie, frightening nighttime landscapes in rural Mexico particularly resonated with me, said Pietro, who initially felt the closest affinity towards Preciado. “Growing up, my father enjoyed hunting and I didn’t share his enthusiasm. Nevertheless, we would often venture out together into those same settings at night. The tales of witches and spirits that he shared were captivating to me.

Reading through Rulfo’s novel, the chilling and shadowy scenes weren’t the only memories that seemed reminiscent. “Pedro Páramo” is based during Mexico’s Revolution – a historical period that strongly shaped Pietro’s childhood fantasies. His grandfather was among those who fought alongside Mexican revolutionary Emiliano Zapata, frequently recounting his tales from the early 1900s battles.

Pietro expressed his delight, saying, “It was fantastic to see revolutionary women and soldiers on horseback filmed by the camera.” He mentioned that this theme was once prevalent in Mexican cinema during the 1940s and 1950s but has since dwindled. However, he was thrilled to revive it and make use of authentic and handcrafted costumes for his project.

Immersed in the narrative, Pietro explains that creating this movie took him on a path similar to Preciado’s. Interestingly, many of the film’s outdoor scenes were filmed in San Luis Potosí, which happens to be the very city where Pietro’s ancestors lived. Unlike his experience with the supernatural novel, however, he was helping actors such as Manuel Garcia-Rulfo, portraying Páramo, in bringing to life the emotions that Juan Rulfo wrote about almost 70 years ago.

In my perspective, there’s a deeply-rooted emotion within the film that resonates with me as its creator. Crafting a director’s work involves delving deep into one’s own thoughts, but ultimately, it’s about sharing those personal insights. I needed to decipher what stirred me in every conversation and character portrayal so I could effectively communicate that to the actors.

In a different phrasing: The character Páramo is depicted as a cruel despot who governs Comala, ultimately leading to its ruin. Actor Garcia-Rulfo, a kin of the novel’s writer, aimed to discover the humanity within this dislikable figure. By exploring Páramo’s lifelong longing for his lost love, Susanna San Juan, the 43-year-old Garcia-Rulfo, famous for his role in “Lincoln Lawyer” on Netflix, emphasized that conveying vulnerability was crucial to empathizing with this main character.

Garcia-Rulfo stated, ‘He’s a daydreamer and affectionate. His fixation on unrequited love is consuming him.’ This character may seem wicked, but eventually, you understand why. He transforms into someone who simply never experienced love. As an actor, I felt his suffering. In playing this role, I believe one develops more compassion.

Throughout the film, Garcia-Rulfo portrays Páramo from his later years, skipping over childhood scenes due to a unique narrative structure. The movie jumps around in time, showing fragments from Páramo’s past and Preciado’s present in a disorganized manner. For instance, one moment we see a young Páramo playing by the river with San Juan, and the next scene shows him as a troubled father seeking forgiveness from the priest. As the story progresses, he transforms into an elderly, broken man. Meanwhile, Preciado is tasked with piecing together his father’s past through mystical experiences. Director Pietro aims to maintain a sense of naturalism while incorporating strange and eerie elements by using shifting camera angles, vanishing figures, and scenes lit by candles.

By reworking this intricate narrative, Pietro discovers that movie-making isn’t intended to serve as a healing process; instead, it serves solely as a means of investigation. He acknowledges the lack of explicit meaning in “Pedro Páramo” and its refusal to provide solutions.

Pedro Páramo seems to stir up questions regarding our identity as Mexicans and the heritage within us, delving into our past and the reason behind the persisting violence. It’s crucial to discuss this issue in order to understand why Mexico, and indeed Latin America, continues to grapple with high levels of violence.

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2024-11-26 02:01