A review of the film “Love In The Time Of Cholera”
The novel by Colombian author Gabriel García Márquez was first published in Spanish in 1985 and this English-language movie adaptation was released in 2007. As the title makes clear, this is a love story, but what makes it different is the time (roughly 1880-1930), the place (unnamed in the novel but identified in the film as the Colombian city of Cartagena) and the postponed consummation (only after half a century do the lovers finally fulfil their dreams).
The main characters are the alluring Fermina Daza (played by Giovanna Mezzogiorno) and the lovelorn Florentino Ariza (Javier Bardem) although Fermina’s husband Doctor Juvenal Urbino (Benjamin Bratt) has a key role. I have no idea how faithful the film is to the book, but I enjoyed this cinematic adaptation – somewhat languid in the telling but beautifully shot and well-acted – and it has given me a desire to visit the historic, walled city of Cartagena where much of it was shot.