No One Writes to the Colonel (1999)
"El coronel no tiene quien le escriba" (original title)

Every Friday, the Colonel puts on his only suit and goes to the dock to await a letter announcing the arrival of his pension. But the townsfolk all know that this pension will never come. ... See full summary »

Director:

Arturo Ripstein

Writers:

Paz Alicia Garciadiego, Gabriel García Márquez (novel)

Stars:

Fernando Luján, Marisa Paredes, Salma Hayek

1 win & 2 nominations.

Cast

Credited cast:
Fernando Luján	...	El coronel
Marisa Paredes	...	Lola
Salma Hayek	...	Julia
Rafael Inclán	...	Padre Ángel
Ernesto Yáñez	...	Don Sabas
Daniel Giménez Cacho	...	Nogales
Esteban Soberanes	...	Germán
Patricia Reyes Spíndola	...	Jacinta
Odiseo Bichir	...	Dr. Pardo
Julián Pastor	...	Lugones
Eugenio Lobo	...	Álvaro
Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Enrique Castillo
Jorge Castillo	...	El cartero
Juana Garza
Mercedes Gironella

Storyline

Every Friday, the Colonel puts on his only suit and goes to the dock to await a letter announcing the arrival of his pension. But the townsfolk all know that this pension will never come. His wife also knows it, and even he knows it. But he is still waiting, living with the pain of the death of his son.

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Plot Keywords:

pension | colonel | husband wife relationship | evil man | shoes | 

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Taglines:

Basada en la novela de Gabriel García Márquez.

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Genres:

Drama

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Details

Official Sites:

Fox (Mexico)

Country:

Mexico France Spain

Language:

Spanish

Release Date:

2 June 1999 (France)

Also Known As:

Az ezredes úrnak nincs, aki írjon

Filming Locations:

Veracruz, Mexico

Box Office

Budget:

$3,000,000 (estimated)

Gross:

ESP 84,528,773 (Spain) (29 June 2001)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Amaranta Films, Canal+, DMVB Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

122 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Connections

Referenced in Una familia de diez: TV por cable (2007)

User Reviews

Gabriel García Márquez' short novel adapted to an exquisite film

A sober, reflexive piece, a little miniature which blossoms into a magnificent humane pictorial sequence which goes beyond a mere dramatization for the screen. This quiet little story will hold you enthralled - if you do not have too many problems with the various Spanish accents ranging from Mexican to Peruvian, and Marisa Paredes' more authentic Iberian Peninsular usage! Garcíadiego has accomplished a perfect adaptation from the novel: even the grand maestro García Márquez should be proud of her superb work. And hats off to Arturo Ripstein who has so ably concerted the whole effort into a gem, a ruby, and so refined, so elegant, so sensitive, so touchingly.....

El Coronel - Fernando Luján - is waiting to get his pension, while he continues to live in his ramshackle timber dwelling deep in the Colombian jungle (however, filmed elsewhere, NOT in Colombia) with his fighting cock and his wife (in that order?). And that is all there is to it.

But, oh, so much more.... This film is a rhapsody.

I must see this poetic little piece again as soon as possible. Worth the high side of 8 out of 10, which is very high on my scale.

This is not light commercial Hollywood stuff.