There were times when the book was too arty for me, the footnotes on Freud and others on homosexuality were dense and hard to read and not really sure what they were there for. Otherwise, I got very engaged by the dialogue only style, the telling of the films, the unfolding of Molina's reason for being in the cell with Valetin and their relationship in the very difficult situation of prison. I truly loved the film when I saw it in the 80s but have not seen it since and it all came back to me and that did help find my way through the occasionally confusing parts. I'm left somewhat unsure if I really enjoyed it but it will stick with me for quite a while.

Un imperdibile, l’opera di un vero narratore, di uno scrittore che conosce profondamente l’animo umano e lo trasmette tessendo delle bellissime storie. It is so full of love. ( )

The structure of this book is fascinating: long passages of dialogue interspersed with retellings of movie plots, along with stream of consciousness jags and footnotes detailing modern psychological views on gender and homosexuality. It is a novel that tries to encompass multiple modes of telling. It is interesting that the details of the two main characters' crimes never really come to light - we don't understand much about the political situation or Molina's crime. It is almost as if the two men are on an island where their respective pasts are seen from a blurry distance, and that all that matters is love and forgiveness.

Valentin says something simple and profound towards the end of the story:

"It's a question of learning to accept things as they come, and to appreciate the good that happens to you, even if it doesn't last. Because nothing is forever." ( )

I really don't know what to make of this. I particularly don't know what to make of the extensive footnotes describing the basis of homosexuality.
The two protagonists seem to have been brought together by random chance, but we discover that's not the case. Molina, it turns out, is a grass, tasked with finding out information about Valentin in exchange for parole. But is it that simple? I'm not sure. Especially with what happens at the end, I'm not sure who is using who, who is trapped in who's web. ( )

A veces, hablan toda la noche. En la quieta oscuridad de su celda, Molina vuelve a tejer las brillantes y frágiles historias de la película que ama, y el cínico Valentín, escucha. Valentín cree en la causa justa que hace soportable todo sufrimiento. Molina cree en la magia del amor que hace que todo lo demás sea soportable. Cada uno siempre ha estado solo y siempre, especialmente ahora, en peligro de traición. Pero en la celda 7 cada uno entrega al otro algo de sí mismo que nunca antes había entregado.