This week I was most interested in the story-telling similarities between the film and the short story. Both “The Crazy Woman and the Tale of the Crime” and “Thursday Night Widows” experiment with temporal shifts, blurring the perceived reality of the observer. In Piglia’s work, the story begins with the actions that occurred prior to the murder. The storytelling is ominous and Almada so unlikeable that the reader immediately senses something suspicious about the night that will unfold. Piglia then shifts the narration to the future where detectives are tasked with solving the crime, only to reveal that the introduction was Renzi’s newspaper article in the works. By distorting time Piglia is able to break a sort of fourth wall where the reader is privy to the character’s own words. In comparison, “Thursday Night Widows” also plays with time and storytelling yet there is much more jumping back and forth. Like “The Crazy Woman and the Tale of the Crime” we begin with a clearly ominous scene veiled in mystery. However, the “murders” have already occurred whereas in the short story the reader only has a premonition. The shifting back and forth of the film also has a similar effect, yet the suspense and mystery are heightened as the viewer is always on edge trying to keep pace.
Playing with time and distorting time is in a way one of Borges’ rules. He states that the author must lay everything out first meaning that any movement to examine the moments before the crime immediately alters a linear chronology. For me personally, I found that the time shifts in the film gave the final reveal a sort of magical realism feeling. As we only saw snapshot moments, it was very surprising to me that Tano was the one to bring up suicide and get the others to partake. From the moments we see him, he is calm, seemingly overconfident, a leader, and highly competitive. However, Carlos and Martin’s participation made more sense to me as they were struggling more overtly. The suicides create a surreal feel within this context.
Hey Daisy, I really liked the comparison between these two stories from this week. I wanted to zero in a bit more on your surprise that Tano was the one that brought up the plan. I think I didn’t really register this until now. The most confident character with a seemingly perfect life is the one that offers an out to his friends. It’s clear that he’s planned this quite a bit, and even gives a compelling speech to convince his friends.
What I also realized is that we never see them do it. There is no scene where we see them walk into the pool, we don’t see their final facial expressions or exchanges with one another. These men open themselves a bit to the group, but we never see them fully reveal their emotions and problems to the others, it’s almost an unsaid truth between them. Although they all commit suicide together, there’s an individuality to it where they all have their own reasons to do it.