(Behind the scenes and exposed still courtesy of the Espacio Pla Museum in Palermo.)
Eduardo Pla's 1976 Alicia en el país de las maravillas is mostly unknown outside of the Spanish speaking world, and largely remains so, despite the full film being readily available. online. There has been a distinct lack of scholarship surrounding this adaptation, which may seem not much because the film itself is unremarkable. A 1970s set Alice which is a product of its time, filmed on a tiny budget, of limited quality.
Except that this version is not just that.
After reading estudioscarrolianos translated essay, I now realize that this film has far more background than I or others previously thought.
The director Eduardo Pla, was a celebrated artist, working on photographic and painting projects. There is a museum in Palermo which although currently shut, houses his collections. In 2015 as part of Alice150 there was a renewed focus on this Alice.
The film's background? Similar to the political situation underpinning Svankmajer's Alice (1988) but far far worse.
Pla tried to make several versions of Alice before this final one, including one where Alice wore a gas mask and burnt rubbish. This version was going to be a parody, reflecting the climate Argentina was in. The police arrested Pla several times. Eventually Pla settled for a 1970s set version with the original carroll text.
Unlike Svankmajer, no one would fund Pla's Alice. There would be no international backing. So Pla improvised.
The end film is a mess because Pla had nowhere else to go idea wise. It seems stilted and badly put together. Sadly, considering the behind the scenes wrangling, it isn't at all surprising.
Sources:
Alicia de Eduardo Plá (1976). (n.d.). Retrieved February 20, 2020, from https://estudioscarrolianos.blogspot.com/2019/03/alicia-de-eduardo-pla-1976.html
(n.d.). Retrieved February 20, 2020, from https://www.espaciopla.com/eduardo-pla/
