10/05/2025
María Ripoll directs Marina Salas in the adaptation of Milena Busquets’ novel This Too Shall Pass.
In 2015, Milena Busquets burst onto the literary scene with a book that became a true phenomenon and almost instantly established her as one of Spain’s breakout authors.
Her first foray into fiction came as a way to process the grief following the death of her mother, the legendary publisher Esther Tusquets—founder of Lumen and one of the most iconic figures of Barcelona’s Gauche Divine in the 1960s and ’70s.
That novel, titled También esto pasará (This Too Shall Pass), became a deeply meaningful read for many who had gone through the pain of losing a loved one.
A highly anticipated adaptation
Now, María Ripoll has taken on the task of adapting this very special story for the screen. In the film, the main character, Blanca, serves as a sort of alter ego for Milena Busquets herself, and is portrayed by Marina Salas.
«The novel really struck a chord with me, because I read it just after my own mother passed away. I was deeply moved by this contradictory character—so full of life, yet needing to feel even more alive in order to bear the pain,» the director tells Infobae España.
Ripoll initially tried to acquire the rights to the novel, but they had already been sold. Ten years later, Juan Gordon (of Morena Films) and Eva Cebrián (Eva Films) approached her about directing it, and she didn’t hesitate.
«For me, it felt like destiny.»
Her challenges?
Her biggest fear was adapting such a well-known novel, with readers who already had their own imagined version of the story.
«But for me, challenges are one of the main reasons I make films. So I tried to stay as loyal to the novel as possible—faithful to the narrative—while capturing that unique and intimate way Milena has of portraying situations from the inside out.»
The writer gave her full freedom in adapting the work, making the process fairly independent. However, Milena Busquets was present on set, and she reflects on that experience in her latest book, La dulce existencia (The Sweet Existence, Anagrama).
«I think being on set impacted her, because everything felt too close to her real life. After all, her book is essentially autofiction.»
Ripoll says one of the motivations that led Busquets to write the novel was the wish to see her mother one more time—and in a way, that wish came true during filming, through the character played by Susi Sánchez, who embodies Esther Tusquets.
«It’s beautiful—she gave me the material to make a film, and now we’ve given her the material to write a book. It feels like a circle has closed.»
Ripoll, an all-terrain director
María Ripoll is a versatile director, known for leading box office hits like Now or Never (starring María Valverde and Dani Rovira) and Don’t Blame Karma for Being an Idiot (with Verónica Echegui, Álex García, and David Verdaguer).
Now, in some way, she returns to her roots—back to her debut film Your Life in 65’, in which she explored relationships from a highly personal and poetic perspective.
Ripoll was especially interested in portraying mother-daughter relationships from a distinctly female perspective.
«I wanted to speak as a woman, about who we are and the complex bonds we have with our mothers. And it’s not something that’s often portrayed. Women are circular beings, men are more straight lines—and we’ve always been told that grief must be lived in silence, crying alone at home. But in this case, the protagonist doesn’t know what to think, what to feel, or who she is. And instead of isolating herself, she escapes into lightness—summer, friendships, fun, and sex.»
Indeed, Blanca embarks on a journey of self-discovery to better understand herself.
«It’s like a coming-of-age story—at 40,» says Ripoll.
Although she’s made many comedies, Ripoll admits she finds the genre incredibly challenging, and she’s happy to return to drama—especially through a character who is free from conventional expectations.
«We were worried that Blanca might come off as unlikable, because she’s a woman who doesn’t conform to stereotypes. But precisely for that reason, I wanted to make an ode to independent women—not to self-sacrificing mothers who stay at home, but to those of us who have dreams to fulfill.»