'The House of the Spirits' TV adaptation expands epic story

LONDON - More than four decades after it helped spread magical realism to a global audience, Chilean-American author Isabel Allende's novel "The House of the Spirits" will come to screens in Spanish for the first time next week.

Shooting the series with a Latin American crew in Chile, in the language of the 1982 novel, made for an "incredibly powerful" experience said Mexican actor Alfonso Herrera, who plays patriarch Esteban Trueba.

"This story, which has been translated into 40 languages and was written in exile by Isabel Allende as a love letter to her grandfather who was about to die, has a beautiful depth of feeling and tackles issues that are extremely relevant, issues that are still very important today," Herrera said.

"The House of the Spirits" follows three generations of women - Clara del Valle, her daughter Blanca and granddaughter Alba, through political turbulence in an unnamed South American country that is portrayed by mixing reality with fantasy.

Developed by Chilean filmmakers Francisca Alegria, Fernanda Urrejola and Andres Wood, the eight-episode show on Prime Video is told from Alba's perspective in the 1970s as she uncovers her family's and country's past through her grandmother's diaries.

"I think we stayed as loyal as possible to the novel, and I think the fact that we've reintroduced this perspective, with Alba narrating and putting into words or articulating what the women from her past experienced, also makes it quite feminist and contemporary," Alegria said.

The book was adapted into a film in 1993 with an all-star cast including Meryl Streep and Jeremy Irons. Herrera said he believed the TV format allowed the story to unfold in ways a feature film could not.

"The series gives us the chance to develop the characters' arcs further, to expand this story, and to feel a bit more at ease about branching out," he said.

Spanish actor Nicole Wallace, who portrays one stage of Clara's life, embraced the story's mystical elements, saying the series treats magic as part of everyday life, in keeping with Allende's original work.

Allende, 83, is an executive producer on the series and gave the creative team full freedom to adapt her debut novel.

"The House of the Spirits" starts streaming globally on April 29.

-Elena Rodriguez and Hanna Rantala; editing by Philippa Fletcher/Reuters