As Juan commented on my last post, Llosa’s novel fits well with Stam’s idea of multiple tracks. I find it interesting that though Stam was referring to the advantages of filmmaking, it is the written form of Captain Pantoja that is more interesting and tack-filled, rather than Francisco Lombardi’s film adaptation.
As I mentioned before, the novel has several scenes layered together in the more straightforward narrative sections, as well as letters and reports. Additionally, there is a radio show transcript. Though all of these things are only experienced through the written word, Llosa is still achieving a story through different mediums. On the other hand, Lombardi’s film does not seek replicate this. At one point a report is dubbed over the film and the film has sound, of course, but there was much less drive to push the medium of film.
I think a possible reason for this is Lombardi’s desire to create films in the “American Style.” This would explain his emphasis on the movie’s visual aspects (bright colors, beautiful women) and the love story, rather than the complications and nuances of the story itself. Overall, Lombardi’s film seemed more like a Romantic Comedy (with hints of tragedy) than a fitting adaptation of a Llosa novel.
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Vargas Llosa's novel is an example of how "heteroglossia' (the presence of divergent discoures within a text) and polyphony (the presence of numerous voices and types of discourses) can be found in a greater degree in a literary text than in a film. (Although the multiple tracks of a film, perhaps, open the possibility of a greater exploration of multiple discourses).
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