There are reviewers and critics who wrote about the story being of a profound love; this is not entirely true, in fact, the author of the novel completely dismissed the premise. The Nobel-Prize winning author Gabriel García Márquez was depicting love as an illness akin to cholera in his main character Florentino, because of the obsession and delusion of that very character for his first love Fermina. There is spread of cholera depicted in the story, both the novel and the film so the author called this a trap for the critics. The film is faithful enough to the novel as could be expected given producer Scott Steindorff spent the better part of three years courting the author for the rights.
Florentino, played by Oscar winning actor Javier Bardem, in his youth, fell in love with Farmina, played by Giovanna Mezzogiorno, who at first reciprocated it, but since her father did not approve, they were denied courtship as Florentino showed little prospect in her family's judgement. Instead, she was courted by Dr. Juvenal Urbino, played by Benjamin Bratt, to whom she pledged her affection and this shattered Florentino; Juvenal and Farmina married. Florentino swore however to remain virgin for her until she would be his again. To make a long story short, he did not uphold his solemn oath for too long, except in his distorted mind. He started keeping a journal of all the women he seduced trying to fill the void; over time he exceeded six hundred such conquests, facilitated by his gift for poetry and his much laid back demeanor (the novel expanded more about his opium smoking habit than the film did). Still, he fantasized Farmina would be his one day.
Faith favored Florentino in later years, when Dr. Urbino passed away, but Farmina was jilted by love as her husband had been unfaithful, carrying on a prolonged affair. But Florentino started courting in earnest until he rekindled Farmina's love; they were both elderly by then. This last part is where most readers and viewers get the reasonable notion that the story is about undying love. If you view it as such, you'll best enjoy the movie for the happy ending it delivers. I'd be remiss if I did not mention that Florentino's sexual depravity, in most of his adult life, is not extolled in the movie, but it's rather made plain that he had issues. He went so far as to seduce a distant relative, América Vicuña, played by Marcela Mar, a minor he sponsored while she was in boarding school; in the novel the affair is more lascivious and when Florentino ends the relation to devote his attention to Farmina, she kills herself.
The work is a period piece, with some latitude as historical events unfolded, and there are disparities between periods from the novel to the film. But it won't matter much as the feel for 18th and early 19th centuries are a mere backdrop, well staged though, and take nothing away from the well crafted character development of each of the main and secondary players. I could go on about sub-plots but suffice it to say the narrative, delivered by Bardem is excellent, the dialogue simply delightful, and everyone's performance is impeccable. It is not a shock to read accounts of Gabriel García Márquez exclaiming 'Bravo' after viewing the first final cut of the movie.
The critics were wrong about the movie, they rated it poorly and the initial reception by audiences was less than cordial at first. There is no merit to these assessments; after all, it was a Nobel literature prize winning story for which there is minimal screenplay adaptation variation. It's not a mass commercial work, but a classic that in time will gather a following as the book did and still does. Of course, I encourage those who enjoy a good book to get this one, while those who prefer the cinema not to miss the movie. I enjoyed both and trust you will. Lastly, the soundtrack is lovely and three songs are performed with great passion by Shakira, two of which are her compositions, music and lyrics.
Florentino, played by Oscar winning actor Javier Bardem, in his youth, fell in love with Farmina, played by Giovanna Mezzogiorno, who at first reciprocated it, but since her father did not approve, they were denied courtship as Florentino showed little prospect in her family's judgement. Instead, she was courted by Dr. Juvenal Urbino, played by Benjamin Bratt, to whom she pledged her affection and this shattered Florentino; Juvenal and Farmina married. Florentino swore however to remain virgin for her until she would be his again. To make a long story short, he did not uphold his solemn oath for too long, except in his distorted mind. He started keeping a journal of all the women he seduced trying to fill the void; over time he exceeded six hundred such conquests, facilitated by his gift for poetry and his much laid back demeanor (the novel expanded more about his opium smoking habit than the film did). Still, he fantasized Farmina would be his one day.
Faith favored Florentino in later years, when Dr. Urbino passed away, but Farmina was jilted by love as her husband had been unfaithful, carrying on a prolonged affair. But Florentino started courting in earnest until he rekindled Farmina's love; they were both elderly by then. This last part is where most readers and viewers get the reasonable notion that the story is about undying love. If you view it as such, you'll best enjoy the movie for the happy ending it delivers. I'd be remiss if I did not mention that Florentino's sexual depravity, in most of his adult life, is not extolled in the movie, but it's rather made plain that he had issues. He went so far as to seduce a distant relative, América Vicuña, played by Marcela Mar, a minor he sponsored while she was in boarding school; in the novel the affair is more lascivious and when Florentino ends the relation to devote his attention to Farmina, she kills herself.
The work is a period piece, with some latitude as historical events unfolded, and there are disparities between periods from the novel to the film. But it won't matter much as the feel for 18th and early 19th centuries are a mere backdrop, well staged though, and take nothing away from the well crafted character development of each of the main and secondary players. I could go on about sub-plots but suffice it to say the narrative, delivered by Bardem is excellent, the dialogue simply delightful, and everyone's performance is impeccable. It is not a shock to read accounts of Gabriel García Márquez exclaiming 'Bravo' after viewing the first final cut of the movie.
The critics were wrong about the movie, they rated it poorly and the initial reception by audiences was less than cordial at first. There is no merit to these assessments; after all, it was a Nobel literature prize winning story for which there is minimal screenplay adaptation variation. It's not a mass commercial work, but a classic that in time will gather a following as the book did and still does. Of course, I encourage those who enjoy a good book to get this one, while those who prefer the cinema not to miss the movie. I enjoyed both and trust you will. Lastly, the soundtrack is lovely and three songs are performed with great passion by Shakira, two of which are her compositions, music and lyrics.