Os Maias como pretexto – Ideias impuras sobre o Brasil e Portugal nas adaptações do século XXI

Abstract

This article analyzes two recent adaptations of Os Maias: Brazilian Luiz Fernando Carvalho’s 2001 television miniseries co-produced by the Brazilian Rede Globo and Portuguese SIC and Portuguese director João Botelho’s 2014 Portuguese-Brazilian big screen coproduction. My main objective is to understand the dynamics of the filmmakers regarding Eça de Queirós's canonical 19th-century text. To this end, I outline what a canonical text is, how the audiovisual can be defined, and, finally, discuss these definitions in the two examples. I understand the adaptations as a barometer of the cultural climate concerning their political contemporaneity and literary tradition, which, in the case of these two works, proved to be a complex undertaking since they were both co-financed by both Brazil and Portugal. Accordingly, I outline the contemporary impact of Os Maias through a comparative analysis. Given that the miniseries has a longer duration, I place more emphasis on the television production.