It Is a Matter of Age: The Rejection of Inheritance in Josep Maria Benet i Jornet’s Testament and Ventura Pons’ Amic/Amat

Abstract

This article offers a new reading of the play Testament (1995) by Josep Maria Benet i Jornet (1940–2020) and its filmic adaptation Amic/Amat (1999) by Ventura Pons (b.1945). I will examine the extent to which Western master narratives on age and masculinity are subverted and/or affirmed, in both the play and film, and what this tells us about the depiction of ageing masculinities within the cultural context of Spain.