Based on the novel by Nobel prize-winning author Gabriel García Márquez, Love In the Time of Cholera is a romance that spans more than 50 years, and tells a tale of obsession, and, to those sentimental at heart, the interminable wait for that special someone to one day decide to come back to you. I’m sure many are scarred by the emotion called love or have been on either side of being spurned. But how many have straddled the line and decided to wait? Still, longing for someone available is one thing, but longing for someone who has written you off is a totally different ballgame altogether. And that is what Florentino Ariza (Javier Bardem) finds out, the hard way.

In his youth, he is enamoured of Fermina Daza (Giovanna Mezzogiono) who he woos sincerely through poems, secret letters and telegrams. Adversity comes in the form of the outright rejection of their relationship by her father, Lorenzo (John Leguizamo), who wants to exploit his daughter’s good looks and move up in society through her marriage into a rich family. So their love becomes long distance, plunging Florentino into hope and longing for the day his love will return.

We all know the horror stories that come with long-distance relationships but efforts by Florentino’s mother (Fernanda Montenegro) to make him forget and move on are to no avail. He settles in to wait – for the next 51 years, 9 months and 4 days! Of course this is fiction, so the longer the duration, the spicier the story. In his efforts to distract himself, Florentino becomes the quintessential Casanova. His infatuation also forces him to upscale himself socially; he wants to appear, at least, to be the best, and likens himself to the ‘catch that got away’.

However this is not only a story about Florentino, but also about Fermina. Her marriage to a doctor (Benjamin Bratt) spurs Florentino to stalk her, though little glances at her life around town seem sufficient for him. In all earnestness he wishes her a happy life without him, but Fermina’s story is not as smooth as he might wish and that brings regret for what could have been a wrong move as well as some nagging what-ifs.

Director Mike Newell’s movie is richly set, no effort being spared to recreate wonderful moments of the steamboat era. With an emotive score, the movie claims original song contributions by Shakira, unfortunately reduced to mere excerpts without a complete song throughout. The make up is also stunning, lending added credence to the youthful actors’ performances as they age 50 years.

Love in the Time of Cholera is an epic tale of two lovers who, torn apart during the budding years of their relationship, take more than 50 years to reconcile. It might not be touching enough to warrant any tears, given the protagonist here is a jilted man rather than a woman, but it serves to remind all those still holding candles for others that while one might treasure memories of times shared, one should not forgo snuffing out the flame and moving on – for sanity’s sake.

Stefan S