The Literary Construction of Invasión (1969): A Screenplay Written by Jorge Luis Borges, Adolfo Bioy Casares and Hugo Santiago

Abstract

This article examines the literary construction of the screenplay for Invasión (1969), written by Jorge Luis Borges, Adolfo Bioy Casares, and Hugo Santiago. Drawing from Pier Paolo Pasolini’s theory of the screenplay as an autonomous literary genre, the study analyzes the film’s narrative structure, the literariness of its dialogues, the symbolic construction of space, the archetypal characterization of its characters, and its potential political-historical reading as a premonition of Argentina’s military repression. Additionally, it explores Borges and Bioy Casares’ theoretical and aesthetic conceptions of cinema, their literary association as H. Bustos Domecq, and their collaboration with Santiago, as well as the director’s cinematic vision, influenced by the Nouvelle Vague. The study concludes that Invasión not only enriches Argentine cinema but also expands the understanding of Borges’ literary universe in its relationship with other artistic languages. The screenplay’s construction as a literary work serves as the foundation for a unique cinematic poetics that opens new avenues for critical reflection on the boundaries between cinema and literature.