Love In the Time of Cholera
Directed by: Mike Newell
Starring: Benjamin Bratt, Giovanna Mezzogiorno, Javier Bardem
Rated: R
Director Newell, who previously helmed Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, tells this touching story about the disease of love. It's love at first sight for the young Florentino (Bardem) and his lovely Fermina (Mezzogiorno) - that is, until she rejects him and marries another man (Bratt). Heartbroken, Florentino decides to wait for Fermina's husband to die. which ends up taking 51 years, 9 months and 4 days. Never mind that Florentino has many, many affairs to pass the time. The audience never once suspects that these escapades succeed in healing his broken heart and replacing his one true love.
What is most delightful about this film is watching Bardem's Florentino. As a young man, he is an ardent Romeo. As he gets older, his energy is no longer manifest on the surface, but one only has to look into his eyes or hear him speak in order to realize that this meek old man still possesses the same fervor of his youth. Bardem deserves applause for successfully executing such an elegant transformation.
Sadly, however, the film's presentation is not nearly as solid as its acting. Events are presented in a choppy manner, and the film fails to depict the passage of time adequately. Only the fading color of the characters' hair signals that X amount of time has gone by. Furthermore, various seemingly important characters and events are not explained. Even the context of the film is reduced to a footnote. P.S. Audience, there is a war and some cholera epidemic raging on.
