The innocent saints of Miguel Delibes [1981] and Mario Camus [1983]

Abstract

This essay intends to study the relationship between Miguel Delibes’ novel, Los santos inocentes (1981) and its successful film adaptation by Mario Camus in 1983. We will find how the quality of this novel (the combination of straightforward realism and emotional lyrism) fits perfectly the film language, thanks especially to the work of the supporting cast, although without taking originality away from the film. The novel’s criticism about the Spanish past along with its universal meaning explain why it was adapted in the young Democracy, whose social and political purpose led to strengthen different aspects in the film as well as in the novel.