31/14
In the timeless town of Macondo, seven generations of the Buendía family navigate love, oblivion, and the inevitability of their past and destiny. This is Netflix’s most expensive Latin American project to date, with Colombian groups and indigenous peoples building the props and sets for the series. 100 años de soledad is one of the great summits of Spanish-language literature. Its style is unparalleled and its scope exceeds imagination. Its characters are so well-described that any screenwriter would have no problem writing them for the screen. But the apparently insurmountable problem in adapting the novel was its length. Condensing a hundred years of family and national history was an impossible task. Almost 60 years after its publication, the novel has found a cinematic home on Netflix. Only streaming can do it justice, and the first two episodes are truly promising. Stunning photography, art direction, and respect for the characters. The sound is essential to bring out García Márquez’s magnificent prose from time to time. The plot unfolds smoothly with richness and depth. I love it, and I was a little skeptical that the magical world of GGM could be translated to the big screen. Wall, so far it’s a success in my book. “One Hundred Years of Solitude” is one of the biggest TV and streaming premieres this month. Check out our December calendar for more!