Published on April 11, 2026
More than twenty years ago, I received an invitation through the now-deceased writer Carlos Pujol to advise on a potential film adaptation of the Catalan work , considered one of the best European novels of the 20th century. I spoke with the writer’s widow, who wanted her husband’s text to be respected. I read the original of *Incerta glòria*, in the two volumes published 62/la Caixa (1981), and I was deeply impressed. However, the project never made it to the screen. If I remember correctly, the director was going to be Francesc Bellmunt, and Sales’s widow, Núria Folch i Pi, passed away in 2010.
Now, the version produced and directed í Villaronga (Palma, 1953) has premiered, and it has left me disappointed. It does not meet the standards set writer and editor, who was both a Republican and a Catholic. *Incerta glòria* has not been synthesized filmmaker; rather, it has been skewed: one of the central characters, the seminarian Cruells, is omitted, leaving the other protagonists—Carlana, Lluís de Brocà, Trini, and Juli Soleràs—merely in the context of the Spanish Civil War—specifically in 1937, emphasizing the darkest aspects, much like in *Pa negre* (2010). It also removes the more philosophical parts of the original book, whose profound dramatic quality and literary style have been compared to those of Fyodor Dostoevsky, Georges Bernanos, François Mauriac, and Graham Greene.
How far removed from those authors is Villaronga’s film! Furthermore, those who have not read the novel encounter the characters almost abruptly, with little contextualization and psychological description, and are taken aback . Still, one must acknowledge the splendid setting of the Aragon front and Barcelona during those years (Plaza Palau, Hospital de Sant Pau, and the bombings of the city), as well as the convincing performances by Núria Prims as Carlana, Marcel Borràs as Lieutenant Lluís, Bruna Cusí as Trini, and Oriol Pla as Soleràs, though the latter is somewhat blurred. On the other hand, Agustí Villaronga includes a crude erotic scene and some indulgent nudity and obscenities that were not present in the original text; this possibility was something that in the past, Sales’s widow wanted me to avoid, in addition to ensuring that the spirit of the book was respected.
However, in light of his incomplete translation of the novel, the director defended himself saying, “Personally, I am not interested in so much Christian disquisition or so much existential doubt about the goodness embodied . That is why I would be in favor of merging the two characters to favor Soleràs.” He also stated, “Filming an intellectual process of characters who engage in moral, metaphysical, and religious discussions, as is the case here, is very difficult; you always have to go to the dialogues, and you run the risk of making something heavy and unreflective. Cinema is not the appropriate space for this type of reflection… It is very difficult for me to reflect in images the intellectual aspect of the work.”
Indeed, critic and professor Àngel Quintana wrote in the same Catalan newspaper a sharp review titled *Sense el rerefons catòlic*, where he notes that “the shift from existential drama to sexual tragedy causes some imbalances in the film,” while another expert, Peio Sánchez, concludes in his critique: “The excuse is not the challenge of bringing to the screen a 700-page work that needs to be lightened. Nor is the solution to strip the characters of their true dramatic depth to transfer them to the challenges of love in times of cholera and saving a child amidst disaster. *Incierta glòria* deserved more than just a hired surgeon. There is a vertigo in our culture, which we can call indifference, towards the abyss and depths. The novel awaits the reader with the same relevance; the film is already obsolete.”
Frankly, if Joan Sales (1912-1983) and his widow, Núria Folch, could raise their heads, they would not applaud.
Related News
- Charity rowing crew mistaken for ‘illegal migrants’ by Rupert Lowe
- From the nighttime lights of the rich to the blackouts caused by crises, this is how satellites capture ‘the heartbeat of society’
- Family sets up scholarship in memory of Indian-origin UT Austin student Savitha Shan killed in Texas shooting
- AI-generated artists break through in country music
- Winners of the GDT Nature Photographer of the Year 2025 (15 photos)
- Myanmar’s parliament elects coup-leading general as civilian president