In the film Los Abismos de Pasion, directed by Luis Buñuel in 1954, the director made a Spanish version of Wuthering Heights, written by Emily Brontë in 1847. The director has the characters speak Spanish throughout the movie but inserts subtitles to help his audience understand what is happening in the movie. I am currently in Spanish 204, so I would see if I understood what the characters were saying before I read the subtitles. I really enjoyed this film because I felt it captured the Hispanic culture while keeping true to the story line.
This movie also focused on only a few of the characters which makes it less confusing for the audience, especially when the movie is in another language. Alejandro, played by Jorge Mistral, has a much more dominating character is this film than his counterpart, as depicted by Laurence Oliver, in the 1939 film, directed by William Wyler. Catalina is played by Irasema Dilián, who is less of a dominating character than Catherine is in the book or as acted by Merle Oberon in Wyler's version. In this Spanish film, the director focuses more on the present time of their life, than in the past, as the book and earlier film do. I also liked how it showed in the end how Heathcliff, or Alejandro rather, ascended from the sky, well from the point of view of Catherine, or Catalina. To me, it showed how they see things from a religious standpoint. That could have been a symbol of how she viewed Alejandro as a Godly figure, ascending to her.
Although the novel Wuthering Heights is better, I can see why one would like the Spanish movie even better than the book or the earlier movie. The book can get confusing especially with the two different Catherines, and all the characters, and it can be a long read.
Overall, this film captures the Hispanic culture and how they view things from a religious aspect. I liked how I, personally, could relate my Spanish speaking skills and apply them to the movie. It was different and kept my attention.