The Satirical Approach – A Bridge Between Umberto Eco’s Novel “The Name of the Rose” and Its Screen Adaptations

The satirical strategies, both in the novel The Name of the Rose by Umberto Eco and in the screen adaptation of this novel, target political, religious and social characteristics specific to the Middle Ages. The dialogic satire prevails in the novel, often with a vigilante value which confers the work a close character and the satiric flow gets a parabolic perspective. The discourse tone, the excitement, the ascendant upgrading, the irony, sarcasm, the scene and character descriptions intermingle in a biting criticism of medieval manners. It is the presence of irony that sustains the open character. The cinematic techniques of the feature film (1986, directed by Jean-Jacques Annaud) and of the eight-episode mini-series (2019, directed by Giacomo Battiato) include, first of all, close medium close shots, completed with medium shots and long shots. There prevails the technique of foreground shooting/close-up filming with the view to point out the actors/characters‛ feelings, to emphasize significant details bringing about the viewers‛ empathy. The extreme foreground enhances the thrill and intensity of some scenes (the black spots on the murdered monks‛ fingers and tongues, the sphere used to murder the chemist-monk, the ossuary, the secret door). The close-up reveals the characters‛ faces, emphasizing significant traits (the face of the blind monk, Jorge, of the waiter, of the abbot). The close plan focuses on the expressive elements of the setting naturally integrated in the nature structures defining for the area where the abbey was situated. The setting elements play an important part in the enhancing of the viewers‛ emotional and cognitive reactions, the action being perceived as somber, tense with dramatic elements. The adaptations of the novel catches the intentions of the literary text and discretely guides the spectators‛ reception. Turning a novel into a film, a cinematic product implies a complex process of adapting the language and sequences, which need to be added or changed. The purpose is to amplify the drama or sometimes the desire to give a vigilante alternative to solving a conflict, relying on the emotional reactions of the spectators.