Love in the Time of Cholera (2007)

Florentino, rejected by the beautiful Fermina at a young age, devotes much of his adult life to carnal affairs as a desperate attempt to heal his broken heart.

Director:

Mike Newell

Writers:

Ronald Harwood (screenplay), Gabriel García Márquez (novel)

Stars:

Javier Bardem, Giovanna Mezzogiorno, Benjamin Bratt

Nominated for 1 Golden Globe. Another 3 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Benjamin Bratt	...	Dr. Juvenal Urbino
Gina Bernard Forbes	...	Digna Pardo
Giovanna Mezzogiorno	...	Fermina Urbino
Javier Bardem	...	Florentino Ariza
Marcela Mar	...	America Vicuña
Juan Ángel	...	Marco Aurelio - 40's
Liliana Gonzalez	...	Marco Aurelio's Wife (as Liliana Alvarez Gonzalez)
Catalina Botero	...	Ofelia Urbino - 40's
Miguel Angel Pazos Galindo	...	Ofelia's Husband
Maria Cecilia Herrera	...	Urbino's Sweet Wife
Luis Fernando Hoyos	...	Urbino Urbino
Carlos Duplat	...	Mourner
Francisco Raul Linero	...	Mourner
Unax Ugalde	...	Florentino - Teen
Liev Schreiber	...	Lotario Thugut

Storyline

In Colombia just after the Great War, an old man falls from a ladder; dying, he professes great love for his wife. After the funeral, a man calls on the widow - she dismisses him angrily. Flash back more than 50 years to the day Florentino Ariza, a telegraph boy, falls in love with Fermina Daza, the daughter of a mule trader. Ariza is persistent, writing her constantly, serenading, speaking poetically of love. Her father tries to keep them apart, and then, one day, she sees this love as an illusion. She's soon married to Urbino, a cultured physician, and for years, Ariza carries a torch, finding solace in the arms of women, loving none. After Urbino's fall, are Ariza's hopes delusional?

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Plot Keywords:

caribbean sea | movie flop | widow | marriage | old man | 

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Taglines:

Based on the best-selling novel by Gabriel García Márquez

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Genres:

Drama | Romance

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for sexual content/nudity and brief language

Did You Know?

Trivia

For director Mike Newell, shooting in the actual locations described in the book, was exhilarating. He said: "There's something about shooting here in Cartagena, in this environment. It's a place of sensuality. The air is lush and fragrant, and the atmosphere very earthy. It's warm. It's very human. There is a sense of life, love and passion here that you couldn't find anywhere else in the world. 'Love in the Time of Cholera' is a very universal story, but it's also a Columbian story.''

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Goofs

When the Widow Nazaret takes refuge in the Ariza home and has a drink with Florentino's mother, the mother reaches over as if to replace the cork in the decanter but doesn't do so; in the following reverse shot, the cork is in the decanter, but upon cutting back to the original angle it is again out.

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Quotes

Florentino Ariza: Shoot me. There is no greater glory than to die for love.

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Connections

Referenced in Love in the Time of Corona (2020)

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Soundtracks

Le Fiacre
Music by Leon Xanrof
Lyrics by Leon Xanrof
Performed by Yvette Guilbert
(c) 1906, Peter Maurice Music Co Ltd / EMI Music Publishing Ltd, London WC2H 0QY
Master courtesy of Pavillion Records, Past CD 9773

User Reviews

The music and the scenery are outstanding ...

We all know the book is fantastic, but since the beginning I thought it was going to be difficult to capture its magic in a film, so I went to see it without too high expectations. There were some details that I found great, for example the music, the scenery, the colors etc. BUT I think the feeling of the story couldn't be reached nor transmitted at all, and the acting was below average. To me, the characters at the film were not interesting at all -anything could have been changed from the book and I wouldn't have cared- they were simply "other people". Shakira's (Colombian singer) songs with amazing tropical shots at the background are the best this film has to offer.

Details

Official Sites:

Official MySpace Official site [Japan]

Country:

USA Mexico UK

Language:

English

Release Date:

16 November 2007 (USA)

Also Known As:

Love in the Time of Cholera

Filming Locations:

Iglesia de San Pedro Claver, Cartagena, Bolívar, Colombia

Box Office

Budget:

$45,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$1,915,000, 18 November 2007

Gross USA:

$4,607,608

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$31,575,877

Company Credits

Production Co:

New Line Cinema, Stone Village Pictures, Cholera Love Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

139 min

Sound Mix:

SDDS DTS Dolby Digital EX

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1