Love in the Time of Cholera (film)

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Love in the Time of Cholera

Theatrical release poster
Directed by Mike Newell
Produced by Scott Steindorff
Written by Gabriel Garcia Márquez
(Novel)
Ronald Harwood
(screenplay)
Starring Giovanna Mezzogiorno
John Leguizamo
Laura Harring
Benjamin Bratt
Javier Bardem
Fernanda Montenegro
Catalina Sandino Moreno
Hector Elizondo
Liev Schreiber
Music by Antonio Pinto
Shakira
Cinematography Affonso Beato
Distributed by New Line Cinema
Stone Village Production
Release date(s) November 16, 2007 USA
November 29, 2007 Germany
Country Flag of the United States United States Flag of Colombia Colombia
Language English
Budget $50,000,000
IMDb profile

Love in the Time of Cholera is a 2007 motion picture directed by Mike Newell. Based on the novel of the same name by Gabriel Garcia Márquez, it tells the story of a love triangle between Fermina Daza (played by Giovanna Mezzogiorno) and her two suitors, Florentino Ariza (Javier Bardem) and Doctor Juvenal Urbino (Benjamin Bratt) which spans 50 years, from 1880 to 1930.

Producer Scott Steindorff spent over three years courting Gabriel Garcia Márquez for the rights to the book telling him that he was Florentino and wouldn't give up until he got the rights.[1]

It is the first filming of a Garcia Márquez novel by a Hollywood studio, rather than by Latin American or Italian directors. It is also the first English language work of Academy Award-nominated Brazilian actress Fernanda Montenegro.

Contents

[edit] Film locations

Much of the film takes place in the historic, walled city of Cartagena in Colombia. Some screen shots showed the Magdalena River and the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta mountain range.[2]

[edit] Cast

[edit] Reception

[edit] Gabriel García Marquez

According to an interview by Colombian magazine Revista Semana Scott Steindorff producer of the film, showed an unreleased final edition of the film to Gabriel Garcia Marquez in Mexico who at the end of the film is said to have exclaimed "Bravo!" with a smile on his face.[3]

[edit] Reviews

The film received negative to mixed reviews from critics. As of November 17, 2007 on the review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, 29% of critics gave the film positive reviews, based on 82 reviews.[4] On Metacritic, the film had an average score of 44 out of 100, based on 27 reviews.[5]

Time rated it "D" and described it as "a serious contender [for] the worst movie ever made from a great novel ... Skip the film; reread the book." [6]

In her review in Entertainment Weekly, Lisa Schwarzbaum also rated it "D" and called it "turgid and lifeless ... those who have read Gabriel García Márquez's glowing and sexy 1988 novel [sic] about one man's grand love for a woman who marries another are bound to be peevishly disappointed ... those who haven't read the book will now never understand the ardor of those who have — at least not based on all the hammy traipsing and coupling and scene-hopping thrown together here." [7]

In the Los Angeles Times, Carina Chocano stated, "the novel has made it to the screen in the form of a plodding, tone-deaf, overripe, overheated Oscar-baiting telenovela ... Doubtless it's an enormously daunting task to adapt a book at once so sweeping and internal, so swooningly romantic and philosophical, but it takes a lighter touch and a more expansive view than Newell and Harwood seem to bring." [8]

[edit] Box office performance

In its opening weekend in the United States and Canada, the film ranked #10 at the box office, grossing $1.9 million in 852 theaters [9] It has grossed $4,607,608 domestically and $26,274,894 overseas to make $30,882,502 worldwide.

[edit] Soundtrack

On his own initiative, García Márquez convinced Grammy-winning singer-songwriter Shakira, who hails from the nearby city of Barranquilla, to provide two songs for the film. The songs were written with Brazilian composer Antonio Pinto. The full score was composed by Pinto, who also scored City of God (film) and Lord of War.

The song "Despedida" music by: Shakira and Antonio Pinto and lyrics by: Shakira was nominated for Best Original Song in a motion picture in the 65th Golden Globe Awards.

The Love in the Time of Cholera EP and full soundtrack were released exclusively on iTunes on November 13, 2007.

[edit] References

  1. ^ IHT article accessed May 26, 2007
  2. ^ (Spanish) Revista Semana: Between Love and Cholera
  3. ^ (Spanish) Revista Semana: Between Love and Cholera
  4. ^ Love in the Time of Cholera - Rotten Tomatoes. Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved on 2007-11-17.
  5. ^ Love in the Time of Cholera (2007): Reviews. Metacritic. Retrieved on 2007-11-17.
  6. ^ Time, November 26, 2007, pg. 83
  7. ^ Entertainment Weekly review
  8. ^ Los Angeles Times review
  9. ^ Love in the Time of Cholera (2007) - Weekend Box Office Results. Box Office Mojo. Retrieved on 2007-11-21.

[edit] External links