The Tunnel (El túnel)

A painter obsessed with a woman ends up murdering her. The reconstruction of a crime of passion that delves into the darkest corners of the human psyche. A high-tension psychological thriller and the most acclaimed work of renowned author Ernesto Sabato.

Juan Pablo Castel, a celebrated Argentine painter, opens the novel with a shocking confession: he has murdered María Iribarne. From that moment, The Tunnel unfolds as a disturbing confession, in which Castel obsessively reconstructs, with painstaking precision, the steps that led him to the crime.

It all begins when Castel exhibits his painting Maternity and notices a woman in the audience who stops in front of a barely perceptible detail: a small window through which a woman gazes at the sea. For Castel, that shared gaze is a sign of absolute understanding. He believes he has found the only person capable of truly comprehending him, and from that moment on, his life revolves around finding her again.

When he encounters María by chance in the street, he begins a relationship with her, marked from the outset by ambiguity. María is married to Allende, a blind man—something that for Castel only fuels further suspicion. Soon he convinces himself—without proof—that she is having an affair with Hunter, Allende’s cousin. María, evasive and ambiguous, never offers him the certainty he demands. Castel’s insecurity spirals into pathological jealousy: he reads double meanings into her silences, interprets her tenderness as manipulation, and her desire as deception.

Their relationship becomes a spiral of reproaches, desperate letters, and increasingly violent encounters. At Hunter’s estate, María tries to open up and explain herself, but Castel has already crossed a point of no return: his mind is consumed by the belief that she has betrayed him. Finally, one night he sneaks into her room, corners her, and stabs her repeatedly.

Back in Buenos Aires, he confronts Allende, telling him that he and María were lovers, and confesses to the murder. Devastated, Allende calls him “insensato” (“madman”) before committing suicide. Imprisoned, Castel becomes obsessed with that word, convinced that if he could only understand it, he might at last comprehend what he has done.

RELEVANT INFORMATION: Ernesto Sabato was one of the most important writers of the 20th century, acclaimed by both the public and critics, as well as a painter and Argentine physicist. His works are noted for their existentialist perspective and the psychological depth of his characters. He received the Miguel de Cervantes Prize in 1984, the Jerusalem Prize, and the International Menéndez Pelayo Prize.

The Tunnel is arguably his most celebrated work. Structured with the devices of detective fiction, the novel develops a character who reveals his deeply introspective and despairing psychology. It is a haunting psychological thriller, centered on the subjective perspective of an unstable protagonist whose obsessive love drives him to murder. The story combines relentless tension, oppressive atmospheres, and an internal conflict that translates into a narrative of high impact. Its dark, claustrophobic, and existential tone makes it ideal for a cinematic adaptation or a miniseries focused on the psychology of the character, in the vein of Taxi Driver or You.

AUDIOVISUAL POTENTIAL: TV Series, Miniseries, Feature Film, TV Film.

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