November 30, 2007

"Love in the Time of Cholera" - An Entertainer, but one Lacking Heart.

Quite the disappointment for those who have read Gabriel Garcia Marquez's novel of the same name. However, the movie by itself was pretty entertaining though it did not fulfill screenwriter Newell's goal of 'adapting a beloved novel into a story that will work well on the big screen."

I went into the movie hall to experience the magical realism of a Marquez creation but alas what wrapped me instead was the languorous charm of a sensual tale of unrequited love. The picturesque 19th century Colombia becomes an ideal setting for the audience to lose focus and get involved with the array of characters, most of who are caricatures and did not need any deciphering. Once I had set aside my expectation of the film, I enjoyed it a lot more. Once in a while we do like to see sentimental love stories that tug at our heart strings. Here was one such movie that made me feel for both the lover who was a loser, as also for the husband who lacked the lure to be a lover. The femme fatal that aroused such longings, both lecherous and loving, is an implausible heroine whose actions defy causality, and thus it is no surprise that she considers it her prerogative to be fickle in matters of the heart. Given this delectable cast of actors and a master director at the helm I could not but enjoy the 12o+ minutes of sheer sentimentality and sexuality without cause.

Mr. Marquez's novel told a story of an obsessive and heartbreaking love that defied the finiteness of life. It magically suspended the readers disbelief so that he willingly and empathetically joined the protagonist in sitting out his entire life waiting for his love to return to him. Newell's adaptation, though entertaining and visually captivating did not carry its audience the way the novel did; it was a far cry from Marquez's heartrending masterpiece.

9 comments:

Coffee-Drinking Woman said...

I believe I'll add this movie to my "to see someday" list.

D said...

Hey III..good review...sans the love scenes...I am not sure how much delectable the movie will be, but I guess its potent enough to make you dwell into the theme of magical realism...lol.

EXSENO said...

It seems like the movie was pretty good after all. But I do understand your first impression of disappointment when you found it varied from the book. Every time I see a movie that varies from a book or more so when it's a true story I find myself spending more time saying that's not how it was, then I do just enjoying the movie.

net-net4 said...

Hi "I Me My" !
Always reading and going to the moovies, between deep and light reflexions :)

Id it is a dit :
Is it the hand that manipulates the mesh
or then is it the mesh that mellows the hand
Either or...
it's your art that manipulates my thought
- Id It IS -

i edited your lines next to new images....

AVIANA said...

isn't it always the case when movies are made from books? i was so upset with davinci code and interview with a vampire...

yeah i heard the reviews and i'm not tempted to see this movie...

Anonymous said...

very often, a well writen novel do not find a suitable adaptation on screen. I would still love to watch the movie because Love in the Time of Cholera is one of my all-time favorite reads

EYE said...

it's really difficult, nearly impossible to bring alive marquez, effectively on screen. there are no special effects to match his tale

Lotus Reads said...

I haven't read the book so I just might enjoy the movie actually. We'll have to wait and see. We tend to have such high expectations of adaptations, especially of books that are popular and loved. It will be interesting to see what readers think of Ian McEwan's "Atonement" or even Hosseini's "The Kiterunner"

Id it is said...

Lotus,
It's great to hear from you, especially since you've closed comments on your page!

I am wary of adaptations, they seldom live up to expectations, one exception was The Namesake in the recent releases. As for the two you mention, Atonement got pretty bad reviews, and The Kite runner will have to live up to the euphoric expectation of audiences who've heard so much about it! Can't wait to see it though!