Review of Love in the Time of Cholera (2007) by Julie F — 02 Feb 2009

Where to begin!?! First and foremost, even the director admits that it is difficult to translate the texture and nuance of the book to the screen, so people should not waste time on that. As there are so few books that do translate well, constant criticism of that inherant flaw should direct your movie selections.

I fell in love with how the director chose to tell this story and many of the choices he made along the way. The only criticism I have is that she is supposed to be repelled by him when she sees him for the first time as a young man, but how can you be repelled by JB? His face is so facinating, has so much character and displays such a range of emotion, that that was not believable for me.

And to cast Fernanda as his mother was brilliant!!!! Again, so expressive - THOSE EYES!!!! I also love Benjamin Bratt, and he has had so few stellar rolls - this is a great vehicle and I hope we see more of him.

Unax Ugalde, the actor that played the young JB. What a find!! Not only was he picture perfect as the young JB, he does a great job with both the drama and the comedy required for the role. Both of them did an amazing job portrying the torture of their unrequited love.

Last, but not least, I could watch John Leguizamo do nothing more than eat toast, so I was delighted with him in the role of her father. The casting was brilliant, the locations and sets where beautiful.

I do admit that I was a little disappointed that it was not in Spanish. My Spanish is not up to par, but would have loved to hear the words of Marquez rolling off Javier's tongue. Gets a 4.5. Would have gotten a 5 if it was in Spanish.