Adaptation strategies of The Life Before Us

ethical functions and screen transformations

Authors

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.60056/CCL.2022..95-104

Keywords:

Romain Gary, film adaptation, intertextuality, humanism, empathy

Abstract

The paper analyses two film adaptations (1977, 2020) of Romain Gary’s novel The Life Before Us exploring the transformation strategies originating from the transition from page to screen as well as different forms of (re)contextualisation in the 20th and 21st century. The comparative case study examines the evolution of dominant adaptation approaches going from fidelity to the source text to intertextuality and reinvention. We aim to reveal the relevance of the author’s humanist views through the strong visual thematisation of universal values and empathic figures’ interactions.

Author Biography

  • Antoaneta Robova , Sofia University "St. Kliment Ohridski"

    Antoaneta Robova [Антоанета Робова] is a Chief Assistant Professor in French Language and French Literature at the Department of Romance Studies, Faculty of Classical and Modern Philology, Sofia University St. Kliment Ohridski. She defended a PhD thesis in joint supervision (cotutelle) in 2012. She does research in 20th and 21st Century French Literature, Comparative Literature, Literary Stylistics and Myth Criticism. She has published numerous articles on contemporary authors (Milan Kundera, Eric-Emmanuel Schmitt, Jean-Marie Gustave Le Clézio, Amélie Nothomb, Philippe Djian, etc.). Web of Science Researcher ID: AAK-1394-2021.

References

Aragay, M. (2006). Reflection to Refraction: Adaptation Studies Then and Now. In M. Aragay (Ed.), Books in Motion Adaptation, Intertextuality, Authorship (Contemporary Cinema 2) (pp. 11–37). Amsterdam: Rodopi.

Boisen, J. (1996). Un Picaro métaphysique. Romain Gary et l’art du roman. Univ. Pr. of Southern Denmark.

Bona, D. (1987). Romain Gary. Mercure de France, Paris.

Cléder, J., & Jullier, L. (2017). Analyser une adaptation : du texte à l’écran. Paris: Flammarion.

Ellis, J. (1982). The Literary Adaptation: An Introduction. Screen, 23(1), 3–5.

Gardies, A. (2007). Narratologie et cinéma. Le récit à l’écran. In R. Gardies (Ed.), Comprendre le cinéma et les images (pp. 85–102). Paris: Armand Colin.

Gary, R. (1975). La vie devant soi. Paris: Mercure de France [Folio].

Gefen, A. (2017). Réparer le monde. La littérature française face au XXIe siècle. Corti.

Gelas, N. (2012). Romain Gary ou l’humanisme en fiction. S’affranchir des limites, se construire dans les marges. Paris: L’Harmattan.

Genette, G. (1982). Palimpsestes. La littérature au second degré. Seuil.

Huston, N. (2002). Tombeau de Romain Gary. Actes Sud, Arles.

Levy, B.-H. (1991). Les Aventures de la liberté. Paris: Grasset.

Loock, K., & Verevis, C. (2012). Introduction: Remake | Remodel. In K. Loock & C. Verevis (Eds.), Film Remakes, Adaptations and Fan Productions Remake Remodel (pp. 1–15). London: Palgrave Macmillan UK.

McFarlane, B. (1996). Novel to Film. An Introduction to the Theory of Adaptation. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Truby, J. (2008). The Anatomy of Story: 22 Steps to Becoming a Master Storyteller. London: Faber & Faber.

Truffaut, F. (1954). Une certaine tendance du cinéma français. Cahiers du cinéma, janvier, 31, 15–29.

Viart, D., & Vercier, B. (2008). La littérature française au présent. Héritage, modernité, mutations. Paris: Éditions Bordas.

Films cités:

La vie devant soi. Réalisé par Moshe Mizrahi. Lira Films, France, 1977.

La vie devant soi [La vita davanti a sé]. Réalisé par Edoardo Ponti. Palomar, Italia, 2020.

La vie devant soi. Réalisé par Myriam Boyer, Arte, France, 2010.

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Published

2025-11-06

Issue

Section

II. TRANSFIGURATIONS OF LITERATURE INTO CINEMA

How to Cite

Adaptation strategies of The Life Before Us: ethical functions and screen transformations. (2025). Colloquia Comparativa Litterarum, 8, 95-104. https://doi.org/10.60056/CCL.2022..95-104