Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe changed the lives of many queer Mexicans around the world. The movie/book gave them comfort by seeing themselves represented in one of two characters. Aristotle Mendoza was scared of who he is due to the toxic masculinity that surrounded him. And Dante Quintana who felt as though he wasn’t “Mexican enough” to fit in. Having Mexican queer representation is hard to find. Benjamin Alire Sáenz, the author, gave representation to thousands by having two characters experience being Mexican in contrasting ways and by showing how that makes their experience being gay different.
Due to how close many people held this book, because they finally found something where the characters truly represent them, many fans were both excited and fearful about the movie adaptation. This movie had to be treated carefully so as to not take away or change the impact it made on so many people’s lives. Luckily the writer and director of the movie knew what she was doing.
In most movie adaptations of books, the author of the book has little to no control over the movie being made. However, the movie adaptation of AADDTSOTU (Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe) is different. Aitch Alberto, screenwriter and director of the film adaptation, wanted Benjamin Alire Sáenz to read and approve the entire screenplay before anyone else saw it. Sáenz was allowed to make any adaptation to the script as he saw fit. After four days of reading and annotating, Sáenz gave it back and told Alberto, “These boys were mine, and now I give them to you.”
Sáenz’s complete approval of the screenplay was something most film adaptations don’t ever achieve. Although the author’s approval might seem small, it is large in the world of filmmaking. And Alberto did not just get approval, Sáenz gave Aristotle and Dante to her. Which is huge because of how protective Sáenz has been over “His boys,” as he often called them, historically. He has stated these characters are a part of him many times. In the preface of the AADDTSOTU ten year anniversary special edition, Sáenz says, “I needed to write it because I needed a story to help me understand how the word gay lived inside of me.”
Not only did the screenplay get full approval from the original author, but this movie was truly a passion project. Both Max Pelayo, the actor for Aristotle, and Reese Gonzales, the actor for Dante Quintana, were long time fans of the book (as were many other actors in the movie). Most of the actors were not just reading from a script. They were bringing characters they loved come to life. Even the producer, Lin-Manuel Miranda, had a close connection to this book, being the audio book narrator.
Lots of film adaptations also tend to cut characters. From the small ones or even large characters to cut down on run time. Alberto doesn’t cut meaningful characters. If a character had an impact, such as showing how a character reacts in a specific situation, they were kept in. Alberto wanted the characters to be laid out on screen as plainly as they were in the book, which is commendable but proves hard due to the fact that the book AADDTSOFU is narrated in the first person.
One notable character in the book many fans loved was Aristotle’s aunt, Ophelia. Alberto adding her to fill in the blanks of Aristotle’s narration was the perfect addition, giving her more character and scenes added to Aristotle’s character without needing constant narration. This also gave more life to many scenes that would have minimal talking.
After the movie came out, there were many positive reviews, as well as many videos using a scene near the end of the movie where Aristotle’s mother talks about how she will accept him no matter what after his sexuality is revealed. This scene circulated around the internet, being able to comfort queer Mexicans who needed to hear a mother with a heavy accent tell her son she still loved him. These videos are proof that not only did the movie maintain its impact, it also spread to more kids around the world—kids who really needed it.
beniciapaw.com 