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Movies / On DVD / Love in the Time of Cholera
Love in the Time of Cholera

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Love in the Time of Cholera (2007)

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Reviews Counted: 106

Fresh: 29

Rotten:77

Average Rating: 4.8/10

Consensus: Though beautifully filmed, the makers of Love in the Time of Cholera fail to transfer the novel's magic to the screen.

Rated: 15 [See Full Rating] for sexual content/nudity and brief language.

Runtime: 2 hrs 19 mins

Genre: Dramas

Theatrical Release:21-03-2008

Synopsis: Gabriel Garcia Marquez's novel LOVE IN THE TIME OF CHOLERA straddles the line between pop and art, and manages to be both a bestseller and a literary masterpiece. With an excellent cast and a... Gabriel Garcia Marquez's novel LOVE IN THE TIME OF CHOLERA straddles the line between pop and art, and manages to be both a bestseller and a literary masterpiece. With an excellent cast and a timeless story, Mike Newell's cinematic adaptation strives for that same balance. As a young man in 19th-century Colombia, Florentino Ariza (played primarily by Javier Bardem) falls in love with a beautiful woman named Fermina (Giovanna Mezzogiorno). But an overprotective father (John Leguizamo) and too much reality intrude on their romance, and Fermina marries a successful doctor, Juvenal Urbino (Benjamin Bratt). But a wedding ring--and the passing decades--aren't enough to dissuade Florentino from his love, even as he beds hundreds of women as he tries to get over his undying passion. Screenwriter Ronald Harwood (THE PIANIST) distills Garcia Marquez's novel--which spans more than 50 years and almost 400 pages--into an accessible film. The basic element of the book--Florentino's love for Fermina--remains intact, and it's driven by yet another excellent performance from Bardem. Fans who were impressed by his masterly turn as a cold-blooded killer in NO COUNTRY FOR OLD MEN will be pleasantly surprised that the Spanish actor can be just as adept playing a character driven by love. As in his previous work such as FOUR WEDDINGS AND A FUNERAL and HARRY POTTER AND THE GOBLET OF FIRE, director Mike Newell has assembled another fine cast that also includes Liev Schreiber, Catalina Sandino Moreno, and Hector Elizondo. [More]

Starring: Javier Bardem, Giovanna Mezzogiorno, Benjamin Bratt, Catalina Sandino Moreno

Starring: Javier Bardem, Giovanna Mezzogiorno, Benjamin Bratt, Catalina Sandino Moreno, Hector Elizondo, Liev Schreiber, Fernanda Montenegro, Laura Harring, John Leguizamo

Director: Mike Newell

Director: Mike Newell
Screenwriter: Ronald Harwood
Producer: Scott Steindorff
Composer: Antonio Pinto
Studio: New Line Cinema

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Reviews for Love in the Time of Cholera

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1 - 20 (sorted by date; UK critics are listed first)
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A valiant attempt to turn a complex novel into a compelling movie is hamstrung by a conventional literary sensibility, an uneven tone and, crucially, a failure to establish a moving, meaningful connection between its two major players.

Full Review Source: Empire Magazine | comment Comment
03/20/08
Ian Freer
Empire Magazine
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

One can recognize the elements that made the book such a beloved work--and see how these elements are so completely botched in screen translation.

Full Review Source: Mr. Brown's Movies | comment Comment
12/27/08
Michael Dequina
Mr. Brown's Movies

A hodge-podge of histrionic, ridiculous scenes cobbled together with no build up.

Full Review Source: ReelzChannel.com | comment Comment
09/02/08
Heather Huntington
ReelzChannel.com

No, Love in the Time of Cholera is not the masterpiece that its source material is, but by choosing not to top the original it still ends up mostly succeeding as a film.

Full Review Source: Paste Magazine | comment Comment
07/31/08
Sean Gandert
Paste Magazine

Unlike the unfilmable novel, Newell’s discordant picture exhibits the worst symptoms of fever itself: unpleasant to endure and then quickly forgotten.

Full Review Source: FILMINK (Australia) | comment Comment
05/30/08
Colin Fraser
FILMINK (Australia)

Though Cartagena in the late 19th Century is beautifully evoked in director Mike Newell’s visually sumptuous film, there’s something missing at the core of this love story.

Full Review Source: At the Movies (Australia) | comment Comment
05/29/08
David Stratton
At the Movies (Australia)

If further proof were needed of my dispiriting theory that the best novels rarely make the best films, it is to be found, richly scented and sumptuously packaged, in Love in the Time of Cholera.

Full Review Source: The Australian | comment Comment
05/25/08
Evan Williams
The Australian

A saga about love in the most romantic of senses, Mike Nicholls' adaptation of Gabriel Garcia Marquez' acclaimed novel is one man's ode to that ethereal emotion that is an end in itself.

Full Review Source: Urban Cinefile | comment Comment
05/15/08
Urban Cinefile Critics
Urban Cinefile

Never read García Márquez and still waiting for a sequel to The Notebook? There's something here for you.

Full Review Source: Las Vegas CityLife | comment Comment
03/17/08
Matt Kelemen
Las Vegas CityLife

... Newell and Harwood completely missed the mark with this one, turning a complex love story into a superficial period film with no heart or heat.

Full Review Source: DVD Review | comment Comment
03/12/08
Felix Gonzalez Jr.
DVD Review

Listless, poorly scripted, badly acted and displaying an unforgivable misinterpretation of its source material, Cholera is easily one of the worst adaptations of a great book ever mounted.

Full Review Source: Colorado Springs Gazette | comment Comment
02/28/08
Brandon Fibbs
Colorado Springs Gazette

It's all yodeling Shakira ballads and emotional shots of the would-be lovers staring at each other until their cheeks pale from exhaustion

Full Review Source: I.E. Weekly | comment Comment
01/29/08
Amy Nicholson
I.E. Weekly

El universo literario de Gabriel García Márquez como sólo Hollywood podía hacerlo: vistoso, prolijo, insípido, superficial. Ni siquiera Javier Bardem logra rescatarlo del olvido.

Full Review Source: Uruguay Total | comment Comment
01/14/08
Enrique Buchichio
Uruguay Total

mono toy katorthoma, na se kanei na mi biazesai idiaitera na diabaseis to biblio sto opoio basizetai

Full Review Source: Movies for the Masses | comment Comment
01/14/08
Joseph Proimakis
Movies for the Masses

Despite some lovely design and cinematography, Mike Newell's adaptation of the novel by Gabriel Garcia Marquez is ruined before it can get going by some disastrous casting.

Full Review Source: Los Angeles CityBeat | comment Comment
12/21/07
Andy Klein
Los Angeles CityBeat

A novel about endless devotion has been turned into a film that seems to go on forever.

Full Review Source: One Guy's Opinion | comment Comment
11/27/07
Frank Swietek
One Guy's Opinion

Is love a disease, as Marquez possibly wanted us to believe? Maybe, but in the case of this adaptation, it's more of a laughing sickness.

Full Review Source: Film Threat | comment Comment
11/21/07
Pete Vonder Haar
Film Threat

It's very pretty and very prestigious and it has no heart.

Full Review Source: Antagony & Ecstasy | comment Comment
11/20/07
Tim Brayton
Antagony & Ecstasy

The characters are never sufficiently formed to be both likable and absurd at the same time -- and ultimately they're really neither.

Full Review Source: Mountain Xpress (Asheville, NC) | comment Comment
11/20/07
Ken Hanke
Mountain Xpress (Asheville, NC)

Sometimes you’re watching a bad movie, and you’re like, 'Well, I’m still entertained,' so I’m recommending it on that sort of level.

Full Review Source: Ebert & Roeper | comment Comment
11/19/07
Richard Roeper
Ebert & Roeper
 
 
1 - 20 (sorted by date; UK critics are listed first)
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Latest News for Love in the Time of Cholera

December 13, 2007: Atonement Leads Golden Globe Nominations
The nominations for the 65th annual Golden Globe Awards were announced this morning. Did your favorite films, stars, and songs make the cut? More...

November 18, 2007: Box Office Guru Wrapup: Beowulf Rules As Overall Box Office Stalls
Paramount reigned supreme at the North American box office as its animated adventure tale Beowulf seized the number one spot in its opening weekend while the studio's other toon... More...

November 17, 2007: This sorry interpretation of Marquez, substituting serial coupling and uncoupling and gratuitous nudity for spirituality, has merely reduced his masterpiece into a titillating, superficial soap opera. Opens in new window
More...

November 15, 2007: Critical Consensus: Beowulf is Certified Fresh; Magorium Short on Magic; Cholera is Under the Weather
This week at the movies, we've got epic poems come to life (Beowulf, starring Ray Winstone and Angelina Jolie), a magical toy shop (Mr. Magorium's Wonder Emporium, starring... More...

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