A lifetime
object of desire
I’m
confessing up front that I haven’t read the applauded novel
by Gabriel Garcia Marquez on which the movie is based; so my review
is on the film only, not how it relates to that book. Occasionally
a film along comes like Atonement which from its opening shots
indicates the director has fashioned a fine cinematic achievement
and Love in the Time of Cholera is certainly one such.
Mike Newell comes of age. Although this veteran British director
has helmed some enjoyable movies – Four Weddings and
a Funeral, Donnie Brasco, and a slice of Harry Potter
– nothing prepared me for the technical excellence of this.
Every sequence is superbly photographed with intelligent editing.
On the face of it, the story seems unlikely. A young
lad glimpses a beautiful woman then becomes fixated on her for
a lifetime. Actually, we have a something of film precedent in
Citizen Kane. Elderly Mr. Bernstein recalls “..back
in 1896 ...on a ferry there was a girl waiting to get off. A white
dress she had on – I only saw her for one second and she
didn’t see me at all – but I’ll bet a month
hasn’t gone by since then that I haven’t thought of
that girl”.
However Love in the Time of Cholera is
an epic in the true sense and suspends disbelief. It covers half
a century in the colourfully vibrant city of Cartagena in Colombia
at the end of the 19th Century. Florentino Ariza (Javier Bardem)
works as a telegraph clerk in his uncle’s flourishing riverboat
business. Once glimpsing through a window the serenely beautiful
Farmina Daza (Giovanna Mezzogiorno), daughter of a tough mule
merchant (John Leguizamo), he falls passionately in love with
the girl. Her father doesn’t take this affair lightly and
carts his sulky daughter off to a remote village in the mountains
for long holiday.
Much later, Fermina finally succumbs to the wooing
of wealthy doctor Juvenal Urbino (Benjamin Bratt), an expert on
cholera. He’s brought medicine to the city and stemmed the
plague of this deadly disease. The newlyweds go to Paris to live,
and by the time they return to Cartagena, the sophisticated Fermina
has all but forgotten her first love. Florentino, on the contrary,
has certainly not forgotten her. She’s his pet obsession.
Inheriting his uncle’s shipping business,
he’s also now wealthy and engages in a series of affairs
with (incredibly) hundreds of ladies; but he still yearns for
his lovely unobtainable Fermina. Late in life, Dr. Urbino dies
as a result of a foolish accident. Florentino rushes to pay his
respects to the widow with an offer of marriage. Fermina is furious
and rejects him out of hand, but after waiting 50 years, he can
afford to wait a little longer.
The
fluid camera work captures in artfully composed shots the wonderful
colour and costume of an exotic city in an exotic era. Some of
the scenes are luminous. There’s Latin passion etched into
the very walls. Meaningful close-ups are scattered throughout
coupled with sensitive editing to bring the subtleties of the
plot to life. The stunning locations and elaborate sets with feel
for the period.
Javier Bardem puts in a wonderful performance as
the lovelorn Florentino. His Anthony Quinn features are cleverly
aged by realistic makeup to cover the fifty years or so of the
story. He’s a far cry from the psychopath in No Country
for Old Men, not lugging his humane killer around this time.
Aging, he moves in a tottering stiff legged fashion, while still
managing amorous feats with his numerous ladies which must be
some kind of miracle. How is it a doddery old man can capture
the romantic interest of so many young women? The secret would
be extremely popular. Perhaps one has to read the book to find
the answer.
Giovanni Mezzogiorno (Don’t Tell)
easily manages the coolly aloof Fermina, also aging with a moment
of confronting naked realism. Benjamin Pratt (Traffic)
plays the distinguished doctor of the times, although he’s
perhaps a bit remote in the role. Strong support comes from Unax
Ugalde (Goya’s Ghosts) as the young Florentino,
Hector Elizondo (The Princess Diaries) as the understanding
shipping magnet uncle, and Fernanda Montanegro (House of Sand)
as Florentino’s mother descending into dementia. There are
good performances also from Catalina Sandino Moreno (Maria
Full of Grace) and Liev Schreiber (The Omen).
Love in the Time of Cholera is recommended
to those who appreciate a well-crafted film.
John Bale
