Love In The Time Of Cholera (2007) Movie Script
--
Ah, little scoundrel.
There you are.
You are a bad boy.
Come on.
Hop on.
Like you always do.
Holy sacraments!
You'll kill yourself!
Only God knows how much
I loved you.
- Someone has died.
- Huh-uh.
- It's Pentecost.
- No no, it must be a very big fish
if they are ringing
the cathedral bells.
Florentino, lay down.
Let's do it again.
Please?
Tolling like that must
be for a governor at least.
Or...
What?
What is it?
America, you must
go back to college.
My driver will take you.
There is something I have to do.
My deepest
sympathy.
Your father
was a saint.
- My condolences.
- I'm so sorry.
We would still
have cholera
if it had not
been for him.
My sympathies,
Mrs. Urbino.
Let's go, Mom.
- See you all later, gentlemen.
- See you later.
Mama, I'll stay
if you want me to.
Fermina, I have waited
for this opportunity
for 51 years,
nine months
and four days.
That is how long
I have loved you,
from the first moment
I cast eyes on you until now.
I repeat
to you once again
my vow
of eternal fidelity
and everlasting love.
Florentino Ariza...
get out of here!
Get out!
And don't show your face again for
the years of life that are left to you.
And I hope there are
very few of them.
Florentino Ariza!
Florentino!
Ah!
- That's not a telegram, Carlos.
- Come on, come on.
Deliver this, please,
to Senor Lorenzo Daza.
Old house,
Park of Evangels.
New in town,
a rough diamond.
Owns mules,
lots of mules.
Thank you, Lotario.
Thank you.
Yes yes, I'm coming.
I'm coming.
Last time you charged me
that's double what I paid for this
whole abbey cloister... what?!
Senor Lorenzo Daza.
Yes.
Oh, good news.
Good news!
No reply.
Look at the shape
of the letter.
Not "U" but "A."
M-me...
M-m... me...
mis...
mist...
mistook...
Senor, Senor!
Tak... mistook...
mistake-taken...
Good.
Good.
Very good.
Mistook, mistake,
mistaken.
- What do you want?
- Look, I didn't do anything.
Don't you greet
your mother?
Florentino,
have you eaten?
Have you eaten?
"Fermina Daza,
for I have learned
that is your majestic
immortal name.
I write
this very short note
in order
to let you know...
that I love you."
- You haven't been to bed.
- Shh!
- Are you ill?
- No.
You are so pale, my son.
Are you sure?
- I'm not ill.
- Let me feel your head.
Let me feel your head.
What are you writing,
a book?
No, a letter.
All these pages,
and they're just one letter.
But what kind of a letter?
Holy Mother.
It is a love letter.
Oh, my son,
who is she?
Her name is...
Fermina Daza.
They're new in town.
Her mother is dead.
Her father owns mules.
And, Mama, I have discovered
the reason for my existence.
Don't talk such
nonsense, my son.
That's it!
Come on, come on,
come on.
But there is money in mules.
Does Fermina Daza
return your love?
"I've discovered..."
I don't know.
We haven't spoken.
That's why I'm writing
the letter.
If I can find the opportunity,
I'll give it to her,
but she's always
with her aunt.
Then you must
win over the aunt, not the girl.
It's him!
It is the telegram boy.
Walk on.
Eh-hh.
- Let me stand next to her.
- No!
Senorita Daza,
all I ask is that you accept
a letter from me.
- Not now.
- When?
Afterwards.
Corpus Christi.
- Corpus Christi.
- Amen.
Welcome, Fernando!
Papa, I'm going
to wish
Mother Superior
a happy Christmas.
This is the greatest moment
in my life.
Give it to me.
It was very long.
I made it shorter.
Wait!
It's a flower
of promising.
Go.
And don't see me again
until you hear from me.
My Holy Mother.
My Holy Mother.
It is cholera, my son.
It is cholera.
- No, Mama.
- My son!
I gave her the letter.
Now I must wait
for her reply.
Yeah.
Then enjoy your pain.
Take advantage of it now
while you are young.
And suffer, my son,
suffer all you can,
because these things don't
last your whole life.
May she answer soon.
She won't.
Florentino!
Florentino!
What the hell
you are doing?
It's not an American ship,
it's British.
It's the mail from Liverpool.
British.
Come here.
What is wrong with you?
This isn't love.
It's madness.
Give me, give me.
Up up up up.
No, wait wait.
Fly now, go.
What is wrong
with you?
You need to take
your mind off her.
Come with me
to the whorehouse if...
Yes?
Oh, how much is it
to send a telegram
to the village
of Piedras de Moler?
- Piedras de Moler?
- Uh-huh.
Uh... let me see.
It's...
it's not on our list.
You don't... you don't
send telegrams to Piedras de Moler?
- No.
- Th... then...
good day to you.
Senorita!
"Dear Florentino Ariza...
I am sorry that I have
made you wait so long
for my reply.
I ask your forgiveness.
Please, write to me
again soon."
"Crowned goddess, I enclose
what I know is
a worthless memento.
I also write this verse
in honor of my love for you."
"I think of you every moment.
Now that spring is here,
thoughts of you fill me with life.
I will love you forever.
Forever."
Shh-hhh.
Shhh.
- It's him.
- Of course it's him.
- Senorita Escolastica?
- Shhh.
Senorita Escolastica,
please turn apart so I can talk
privately to the young lady.
I have something important
to ask her.
What impertinence!
There's nothing that has to do with her
that I cannot hear.
Then I will not
say anything.
But I warn you,
you will be responsible
for the consequences.
- Fermina Daza.
- I am here.
We've written
too many letters
and too much time
has passed.
So now...
crowned goddess,
I make this vow.
I swear to you
my eternal fidelity
and everlasting love,
and I ask in all humility
to do me the great honor
of marrying me.
You...
you must give me time.
Fermina, say yes!
Fermina, I may not be married,
but I know about love.
Even if you're
dying of fear,
even if you are sorry later,
because whatever you do,
you will be sorry
all the rest of your life if you say no.
Believe me, I know
what I'm talking about.
Yes, very well.
I will marry you
if you... if you promise
not to make me eat
eggplant.
Who is he?
Who is he?
Who is he?
Who is this
Florentino Ariza?
Huh?
And Mother Superior
says that you write letters to him?
And you... you!
You are to blame.
No!
Aunt!
No!
No!
Daughter, daughter,
listen to your father.
Listen to your father.
Everything I do,
I do it because...
because I...
okay, I'll try.
I'll try, but...
but I have to... I have to ex...
I have to explain myself.
I have to explain myself.
It's difficult because I'm a plain man.
But ever since
your mother died,
you've been...
you've been...
a daughter...
a daughter is a jewel.
Is a jewel. I'm...
I'm... I'm a rough diamond, but you're...
you're...
you're the... the crown.
And I don't... I don't...
I don't work for me.
We didn't come here for me.
We came here for you.
For you!
But you don't know how...
just how beautiful you are.
You-you-you...
you're... you're...
you're much too beautiful
to marry a telegraph operator.
We have bigger fish to fry,
and believe me... believe me,
at your age,
love is an illusion.
Christ, by Christ I swear,
I swear,
I swear to Christ...
Good morning,
good morning.
You and I must talk...
man to man.
Ahhhh.
When my wife died
I set myself one goal.
One goal...
to turn my daughter
into a great lady.
Now that's... that's a long road
to travel for a mule trader.
I've never had a drink
this early in the morning.
Better start now.
You're going to need it.
I came to this town
because...
well, here was the possibility
of a grand marriage.
Then an unforeseen
obstacle
to the plan that I have
fought for with my life...
you.
So I've come to make
a polite request.
Get out of our way.
Have you spoken to her?
None of that. None of that.
This is a matter for men
and it will be decided
by men.
Be that as it may,
I cannot answer without knowing
what she thinks.
Don't force me
to shoot you.
Shoot me.
There is no greater glory
than to die for love.
Pack!
- Where are we going?
- To our death!
You'd better explain.
I'm not leaving.
Take it to him now.
- What is this?
- They leaving.
They going
to the country.
- Hurry up!
- Where are you going?
He's taking me away.
- Sit down!
- Fermina.
Don't you dare
talk to him!
- Where are you talking her?
- He's taking me away!
Get out of our way.
Hyah!
Hyah!
Get back.
Get back.
I think of you
every day
I think of you
a little bit more
I tear my reason apart
Something inside me
gets destroyed
C'mon, mule.
I think of you
every day
I think of you
a little bit more
And I keep
thinking of you
And I keep
thinking.
- That's bad. Five more.
- Take away all I have, right?
Aunt Fermina!
Senora, may I help you?
Hi, princess,
What are you here for?
Cousin Fermina?
I have a surprise for you.
Cousin.
He wants me to fix
a wedding date.
- Will you?
- Of course.
- Excuse me, Senoritas.
- Make it well into the future.
Your father said he will
keep you here for a year at least.
A year is nothing.
We will exchange telegrams
as we used to exchange
letters.
And our love will triumph.
There is no man on Earth more
perfect than Florentino Ariza.
And you, Hildebranda,
are you in love?
A married man.
Do you
exchange letters?
No.
Secret glances.
It all seems difficult
and impossible now,
but I just know that we must
learn to be happy without love.
And in spite of it.
Happy without love?
Yes.
Happy without love.
I want to eat the tender flesh
of every word
she has written to me
over and over.
I hope I survive.
- But danger is everywhere.
- Fire!
If the suffering of your own
heart doesn't kill you,
the ever-recurring
civil war might.
And there is the disease
that comes between
the burst of bloodshed,
the deadly choking embrace
of cholera.
Dead collectors!
My daughter is...
She is even more impossible
to predict than war.
She grabs hold,
then suddenly she lets go.
- Daddy! He's dead, too.
- She grabs hold,
she lets go.
Florentino!
Up here!
Stop it, stop it.
It will be all three of you, I promise.
All in good time.
So which one
is it going to be?
No no, my beloved
is returning soon.
I have to keep myself pure.
And I will only lose
my virginity for love.
Oooh.
That is such a bad idea.
Don't go, Florentino.
I will be back...
but not for some time.
Let's go, let's go.
So the worst years
of my life passed.
I counted the eternal minutes
one by one
as I waited for her return.
But I do not mind.
I will keep watch
for all of eternity.
I will keep watch
until I die if need be.
I stand vigil for her
beside the lighthouse.
My heart is like the sea...
endless and everlasting,
even while it is as turbulent
as the crashing waves.
Florentino, what are
you doing here?
Ricardo, the young lady I'm going
to marry is coming back tonight.
I'm waiting for her.
Come on.
Come on!
Ricardo the lighthouse keeper
is my only friend.
He does not understand.
I must be here
to will her home.
I delegate to you the authority
to run this household...
and turn over to you
the keys to your life.
Crowned goddess, you are
the coming of the dawn.
Like spring, you have
returned to the one newborn.
Mom, Mom, there it is, Mom!
Yes, yes. Come on, come on.
- That one, too? That one.
- No no, that one over there.
Thank you.
Coconut candy!
Sweets for your sweetie.
Coconut candy!
The Arcade of Scribes is not
a place for a crowned goddess.
No.
No, please.
Forget it.
Wh-wh-what do you mean
"forget it"?
I just...
I just realized
this... this moment
when I saw you.
What?
What did you realize?
What is between us...
is nothing more
than an illusion.
It... it clouded
my eyes.
I'm so sorry.
You... you just...
realized it?
Yes.
The moment I saw you.
Make him well.
Please.
- Dr. Juvenal Urbino?
- He's a busy man.
- This is urgent.
- No. Appointments only.
Cholera... my mistress
has cholera.
No, you can't go up there.
You need to wear a mask.
I'm Hildebranda Sanchez,
the patient's cousin.
She's upstairs.
I would like you to be present, please,
when I examine her.
Her father's with her.
Oh, thank you.
Thank you for coming.
I pray to God
you can do something.
They say you know more
about cholera than a...
Under the tongue.
Vomiting?
How many times?
Once, twice?
Twice.
Diarrhea?
- Severe?
- I don't...
- What?
- I... I don't know.
I've never had it before.
Sit up, please.
It is an intestinal
infection.
What?
It's not cholera?
No.
I'll prescribe medicine.
Three days at home
and she'll be well again.
Did you hear that?
Oh.
Doctor, wait wait.
Doctor, wait! How did you learn
so much about cholera?
I, uh, studied in Paris
under Professor Proust.
All the things you've done
for the city... the clean water,
- closed sewage...
- Your daughter.
- Yes?
- She's very beautiful.
Thank you.
Senorita.
I would like to, um...
take your pulse.
Stick out
your tongue, please.
Mm-hmm.
You are like a...
a new-sprung rose.
Thank you.
Do you like music?
What is the point
of that question?
Music is important
for one's health.
No! No, don't!
Doctor!
Do not go.
I saw it all.
I saw it all.
I... I told your daughter
that she is like a rose.
True enough, but one
with too many thorns.
Up up up!
You open that window and apologize.
I have nothing to apologize for.
I closed the window to keep out the sun.
Don't backtalk back to me, okay?
Do as I tell you.
Say something... now!
I offer you my most
heartfelt apology, sir.
Her education.
Let me escort you
to the carriage.
Senor.
I... I would like
your permission
to write
to your daughter.
Ahh.
I will go and find her.
I won't let her go.
My destiny in life
is to love Fermina.
I will win her back.
Hildebranda, look!
Aye, beautiful!
Mmmmm,
another one.
Gala Placidia, I told you
not to accept it.
Oh, I know that,
milady,
but is hard to say
no to Dr. Urbino.
How many is that now?
Seven.
- You must reply.
- We're not going to discuss it.
We must hurry.
The Belgian photographer
is expecting us.
Gala Placidia,
help us to dress.
Oh, yes, milady,
it is perfect.
Ladies, very still.
I will count
to five now.
One, two, three...
four, five.
One, two, three!
Benny Centeno!
Benny, Benny, Benny...
Move aside!
Move aside!
Benny!
Champion!
Please get in, I'll take you
wherever you want to go.
Benny, Benny, Benny!
Who is Benny Centeno?
He just won the boxing
championship in Panama.
Oh.
This is so nice.
I could spend the rest
of my life here.
Oh, ay, my boots
are killing me.
I'll have to take them off.
I'll take off mine too.
Let's see who
finishes first.
Oh!
Mmm.
You won.
You won.
But now I realize it
wasn't my boots at all.
It is this wire cage
under my skirt.
Hmm, nothing could
be simpler.
Take it off.
I won't look.
Ay!
I am waiting.
We want to go home.
Whoa whoa whoa.
Read my letters.
I want your answer.
He's very beautiful.
When he covered his eyes
and I saw his perfect teeth
between those rosy lips,
I wanted...
oooh, eeeoh.
I wanted to devour him
with kisses.
What a whore you are.
"Dear Senor Urbino,
I give you my permission
to speak to my father."
Senora.
Forgive me for keeping
you waiting, Transito,
but I have to practice
my singing.
You never know when there's
going to be a funeral, eh?
But, please please.
So...
is there a problem?
You get the money
I send each month?
Thank you.
You are a kind man, Don Leo.
I am not kind.
I am just,
unlike my brother Pius.
Something had to be done.
Pius should have made
a proper provision for my son.
Well, he did not
and I did.
So?
I've come...
to ask if
you can help him.
- Who?
- Your nephew.
My son Florentino.
What kind of help?
A job.
Well, I thought he had a job
at the telegraph office.
Yes, but I'm asking you
to find him another job...
any job, as long as
it's far away.
Some port lost
in the jungle where...
where there is no mail,
no telegraph.
A broken heart.
Yeah.
Hmm.
Hmmm.
How about Villa de Leyva?
How far away is that?
Oh...
about three weeks.
I am nothing.
I will not heal...
not for all time.
I'm struck by
the lightning of love
and burned beyond repair.
She's a splinter that
cannot be pulled out.
She's part of me,
everywhere I go.
Everywhere, she is.
- Hello.
- Fermina.
What are you doing?
Turn off the light.
I want...
absolute darkness.
You forget, Doctor,
this is the first time
I've slept
with a stranger.
Do you love me?
Don't be frightened.
We are man and wife.
I want you to love every...
every moment
of our honeymoon.
I can't wait
to show you Paris.
It is a...
a city of love.
You have
a beautiful smile.
Thank you.
I think my sense of smell
is overdeveloped.
Well, that would be because
your olfactory organ's...
I'm sorry
I mentioned it.
Shhh.
Don't forget I have
met them before.
I remember it
very well.
And I'm still angry.
I've... I've never been able to
understand how your thing works.
How ugly it is.
Even uglier than
a woman's thing.
Yes.
Besides, I think it has...
too many bits on it.
That's astounding.
My doctoral thesis was
on the advantage...
I don't want
a medical lesson.
No. No.
This is going to be
a lesson in love.
The black flag!
That's the plague flag.
Give them a wide berth.
Please, help us!
Captain!
- They're dying of cholera!
- Cholera!
Please!
Good Heavens! Careful,
don't get too close...
Please, help us!
Captain! Help us!
Cholera!
Help me! Please.
Don't leave.
God! What's that?
Help me! Please!
Keep her safe, protect her
from harm.
Good night,
my crowned goddess.
Go go.
Go on and forget all about it.
This never happened.
Who occupies that cabin...
the middle one?
- Three women.
- Three women?
They have three cabins
and they both connect together.
It makes one big one.
- Who are they, these women?
- I don't know.
- You go on.
- We'll see.
- See her eyes?
- My, Rosalba.
He looks very sweet.
And so shy.
It's the shy ones
you must look out for.
- Carefully, it's fragile.
- Get out of the way.
He's staring at you.
Bye!
Fermina, my vow...
I've broken my vow.
You shouldn't have
come back, my son.
I had to.
Why?
Something happened and...
I had to be near
Fermina again, Mama.
- That's all.
- But she's not here.
What do you mean
she's not here?
She's in Paris
on her honeymoon.
She'll be gone a long time...
more than one year.
Maybe two years.
- That's not true, Mama.
- It is true, my son.
- No.
- It is true.
At least two years.
- No.
- No, Mama.
Please don't cry.
Oh.
Please...
please don't waste your life.
You must forget her.
You must find someone else
who will help you forget.
I can't forget, Mama.
I will
never forget, Mama.
I will never forget, Mama.
Senora, senora!
Be careful! Senora!
- Senora.
- Come on, boys.
Open fire!
They destroyed my house,
Transito!
They destroyed my house.
Come in.
I need a bed...
on the floor, anywhere.
Just until I can
rebuild my house.
Who knows how long
this war will last.
Come on, drink.
You must stay here.
- So you have the room?
- No.
It is a shame.
My own bedroom is too small.
But if you don't mind...
sharing with my son.
Florentino?
An emergency.
The Widow Nazaret,
her house has been damaged.
War has no respect
for anybody.
She needs a bed.
You can sleep in your hammock.
I'm so scared!
If it wasn't enough
to lose my husband,
now this.
He died three years ago.
Help me, help me.
My dead husband
always undid my laces.
Help me, please.
Help me.
I've never been
in the same bed
with any other man...
ay... other than
my dead husband.
He's in his coffin now
under the ground.
I'm so happy!
I'm happy
because only now
do I know for certain
where he is
when he's not at...
home!
Women.
Number one...
unknown lady in boat.
The first...
wondrous...
explosion.
Number two...
the Widow Nazaret...
while doing it,
only talks of
her dead husband.
Number three...
Esmeralda Arau...
a skinny,
wiggling tadpole
who'd walk me
through the ferns.
Number four...
Maria Estevez...
very dangerous.
We were so close
to the street,
anyone could
have heard us.
This is the cure
for the pain
of Fermina.
What is it?
Nothing, my son, nothing.
- For a moment I...
- What?
I didn't know
who you were.
It happens to me
more and more,
but it... it goes.
Give me your hand.
Give me your hand.
Ma... I have work
to do, Mama.
Work? What work?
You need to find a job and to get paid.
I can't keep you forever.
I... I... I have
something to tell you.
You are going
to marry the widow.
Oh, no.
- What did you say?
- Ma... Mama...
Did you say you had
something to tell me?
Yes, I honestly believe...
I'm getting over the worst.
What was her name again?
Fermina.
Fermina.
Fermina.
I begin to feel free.
The pain is gone.
It's gone.
Now, it took Paris,
the city of love, to bring about
this blessed
transformation.
But here we are
amongst our dearest friends.
We are happier than
you can know to be here.
And furthermore,
we are overjoyed
to no longer
be two, but three.
The great purpose
of marriage has made itself clear to all
and we thank you,
our dear friends, for your warmth
and your congratulations.
Well, I was wondering
how long it would be
before you came begging me.
- What do you want?
- A job.
I gave you a job...
at Villa de Leyva
and you threw it away.
It is different now.
I want to be
rich like you.
I am not rich.
I'm a poor man with money
which is not the same thing.
Why do you
want to be rich?
So that I can be
someone in society,
I need... I need to be worthy
of a great lady I cannot stop loving.
Who is she?
Married?
Yes, but I'm waiting
for her husband to die.
Is he old?
No, but I'll wait
for however long it takes.
- You're crazy.
- Why?
Because insanity
runs in the family.
You take after
your father.
You never knew him,
my brother Pius.
You know what
his last words were?
He said "The only regret I have
in dying is that I do not die for love."
He said that?
- He really said that?
- On his deathbed.
Nevertheless, all his life he fucked
everything in sight.
So...
you want a job in the River
Company of the Caribbean.
Yes, yes.
Well, are you any good
at, um, writing letters?
I think so, I...
I... I write poetry, too
I enter a poem every year
in the Poetic Festival.
I have never won, but...
So, you have a way
with words, huh?
- Yes.
- Good.
Perhaps you can tell me
what this means.
On my birthday last year
someone made
a speech in my honor.
He said I suffered
from lucid dementia.
Now what does that mean?
Lucid dementia
means you are clearly crazy.
I told you it
ran in the family.
Start tomorrow.
Clerk to the board of directors.
Tamales! Tamales!
Magic inks.
Very light blow.
Invisible ink
for your secret letter.
Sir?
I-I...
- I would like...
- You don't have to say anything.
Does she know
you love her?
Yes.
Yes, and of course,
she loves you.
Yes.
Do her parents know?
No, they don't.
What do you call her?
My flower.
My flower.
All right, this is
what you could say.
"My beautiful
and beloved flower.
Nobody can cut
the stem
of our love.
My life, my soul,
be strong.
Don't give up."
I baptize you in
the name of the Father...
"Don't give up."
I can't read or write.
- Don't worry, I can.
- I got this.
Would you read it to me
and maybe write an answer?
Yeah.
"My beautiful
and beloved flower.
No one can cut the stem
of our love.
My soul,
my life, be strong.
Don't give up
because our love is deeper
than the deepest ocean.
Emilio."
That's...
that's a wonderful letter.
That's a wonderful letter.
I know just what
your answer should be.
This must stop.
- This must stop.
- What must stop?
"Our coffee comes
in strong brown sacks.
Load well, but never
tire your backs.
Unload in Miami,
these coffee beans
and keep them dry...
...by any means."
- What do you call this?
- A-a bill of lading.
- A bill of lading?
- Yes.
- In rhyme?
Yes.
And this..."To James Robinson
and Company, Lombard Street,
London, England.
Beloved sirs.
I write with all
the ardor I can muster
to thank you for your exquisite letter
of 16th Aug.
My heart beat faster
as I read each word.
Oh, sirs, with all
tenderness at my disposal,
I kiss and embrace you
and sign myself, dare I say..."
"...Adoringly."
This is not a business letter.
This is a love letter.
Love is the only thing
that interests me.
Hmm.
Well, the trouble is
without the river navigation,
there is no love.
It must stop.
If you can't write
a straightforward business letter,
you will be put
to picking up trash on the dock.
But I need love.
Don Leo, I need love.
I need love.
Dona Blanca.
- Good afternoon.
- Dona Blanca, so nice to see you.
- You look wonderful, Dona Blanca.
- You know my daughter-in-law?
Yes, of course, Dona Blanca.
Oh, my daughter was
at school with her.
Yes, we paint at the park.
We met in Paris.
I thought her charming.
She has, alas,
a scandal in her family.
- Mother, please.
- Apparently, there is no law,
human or divine,
her father
has not ignored.
And now he's run away.
It's only to be expected
from mules.
She does not
eat eggplant...
and does not
play the piano.
But she is learning
the harp.
- Oh, do play for us.
- Yes.
- Oh, do, please, yes.
- I think not.
Serve the tea.
Well, what news
from the great world?
Don Leo XII of the River Company
says he's going to retire!
Oh, he's been
saying that for years.
And if he does,
who will succeed him?
- Oh, he has a nephew.
- An illegitimate nephew.
- Florentino Ariza.
- Mmm.
Do we know him?
I've seen him many times,
but I can't remember
what he looks like.
Yes, such an odd person.
Impossible to describe.
He's...
he's not a person.
He's a shadow.
Oh. You know him?
I have my period.
How odd.
Just yesterday,
I told my anatomy class
that married women
have their periods
as often as
three times a week.
When can we move
into our own house?
- Not yet.
- When?
Not until your mother dies.
I married a weakling.
Would you have been better off
with Florentino Ariza?
You don't see him...
but I do.
How joyless I am now.
Would I have been
happier with him?
Poor man.
Ah, I am Dr. Juvenal Urbino.
I would like
to see Don Leo.
He is having his siesta.
Please, wait.
Should be awake
in five minutes.
And you are?
His nephew and chief clerk,
Florentino Ariza.
Still asleep.
Please.
Would you like a coffee?
Do you like music?
I like the music
of Carlos Gardel.
I see.
Popular music.
Yes, but...
we must keep performing
the best music in our city.
We must import
the greatest artists
from Europe.
Hmm.
I am working on it.
And of course
the Poetic Festival.
That was my idea.
I... I started it some years ago.
Yes, I know, I know.
Ah, well, I hope
you will attend.
I mean to.
I may even enter a poem.
Really?
How amusing.
Of course,
one needs to...
raise money
for these things.
That is why I am
here to see your uncle.
Hmm. Hmm.
My wife
supports me in this.
I will say more.
My wife is the very
soul of my endeavors.
Without her
I... I would be nothing.
I adore my wife.
Thank God he's awake now.
Ladies and gentlemen,
damas y caballeros,
I welcome you
to the Poetic Festival.
As in years past,
this year's
Golden Orchid will be
presented by
none other than...
my wife.
Just in time.
And the winner of this year's
Golden Orchid is...
Wing Wu Peng.
What?!
It's a scandal!
What was the name?
It sounded Chinese.
It's impossible.
- Read his poem.
- Yes.
- "Your body is a holy garden..."
- Believe me,
my heart goes out to you.
I know you must
have entered a poem
because of how the flower
trembled in your lapel.
That's why I took mine off.
"Your body is
a holy garden..."
Would you like me
to see you home?
Go, horse, go.
I'm sorry to have
been so silent, but...
I'm still very angry.
I understand.
But we should at least
tell each other our names.
I am Florentino Ariza.
Sara Noriega.
Thank you.
Good health.
Would you like
to see my albums?
- Your what?
- Albums...
photographs
of public events.
I'm a teacher
of civics, you see.
Really? Of course
I would like to...
to see them.
What is it?
May I sit beside you...
- and cry?
- Of course.
Of course.
Hmm.
I'm so...
disappointed.
I can't stop.
Maybe you should
loosen your bodice.
It will help you
to feel more...
comfortable, you know?
May I help?
Tomorrow we do it in bed.
You are quite wonderful.
Tell me, how would
you define love?
- Love?
- Mm-hmm.
Love is...
love is everything
we do naked.
Spiritual love
from the waist up,
physical love
from the waist down.
Mm-hmm, yes,
divided love.
That could be a poem...
"Divided Love."
Yes, it could be.
Let's write it together,
a poem on divided love.
We can enter it in
next year's Poetic Festival.
We'd be certain to win.
- Tell me, tell me!
- Yeah.
That's a good idea.
Divided love!
Divided love!
Divided love!
Calm down! Calm down!
Stop it, calm down, horse!
- Miss?
- Calm down.
Miss?
Please, allow me
to give you a lift.
Please.
Thank you.
Hey! Hey!
By the way,
I am Florentino Ariza.
Olimpia Zuleta.
Am I taking you
out of your way?
Not at all.
Not at all.
I would have been in terrible trouble if
I had lost my parasol.
- Why so?
- My husband gave it to me.
Oh.
Married long?
Just over a year.
Just a bride.
He's a very jealous man,
my husband.
What does he do?
He sells trinkets
in the market.
- Oh.
- And pigeons.
Excuse me, sir?
We're here.
Yes, senora.
Ho, ho!
How do I thank you?
You could
sell me a pigeon.
They're not for sale.
Then what must
I do to get one?
Well, you find
her in a storm.
You drive her
back to the coop.
This is how I say thank you.
Go away!
Leave me alone!
Go away! Go away!
I don't know who are you!
- I don't know!
- Help me!
Who am I?
Who am I?
And whose son
are you?
- I'm yours.
- Whose son are you?
- Wake up. Look after her!
- Ay! I fell asleep.
Where am I now?
Uh, Rosy...
Rosy Martinez.
- Oh.
- Who is this Rosy Martinez?
From a children's
story long ago...
Give her the breakfast.
Oh!
At last you are here.
Oh! Where have you been?
You're never
coming to see me.
Oh, you little boy!
Such a wonderful boy!
And his name is...
his name...
Go on! Go! Go!
Go back to your whores!
You took advantage!
The only disease
you ever had was cholera.
No, Mama. You confused
cholera with love.
Mm-hmm.
Didn't you like
the nice gentleman?
Huh?
I must see you again.
And for only one reason.
Not such a nice gentleman.
- Senor Ariza?
- Yes.
The pigeon lady
sends you this
and says please
keep the cage locked.
Um, if it flies again,
she will not send it back.
In many ways it was sinful.
And I am a saint.
Because you see, Ricardo,
I persisted.
I broke down her defenses
and stormed the citadel.
Olimpia Zuleta never refused
the meetings I arranged.
But then, I got
tangled in my own net.
I thought it
would be the same
as it was with the others.
Just another
escape route from Fermina.
But then, I found myself
falling for her.
And I became
a lover in pursuit.
I hunted her.
I was the lover who
never showed his face.
I will never be able
to smell turpentine again...
without thinking of this
blessed afternoon.
No, wait, wait.
What?
What are you doing?
You will see.
No!
No!
No!
He told the police
why he did it.
Doesn't mention you.
There's no more life,
there's not
There's no more life,
there's not
There's no more rain,
there's not
There's no more breeze,
there's not...
The sky is crying for Olimpia.
And so am I.
There's no more crying,
there's not
There's no more fear,
there's not...
What have I done?
What have I done?
Take me there
To where you are
Take me there
Take me there
To where you are
Take me there.
What's the... what's she going to the
market for at this time of the night?
So whose son am I, Mama?
Eh, whose son am I?
I hoped your mother would
have liked my singing.
I know she would.
I know.
The only regret
I have in dying
is that I can't sing
at my own funeral.
Good people!
Good people.
Fellow citizens,
we are gathered here at
the dawn of a new century.
The 20th century
will see the end
of man's suffering.
The 20th century
will bring
us harmony, peace,
and it will bring us light!
"474...
Peruvian spinster, Luisa...
Sunday school teacher."
My destiny in life
is to love Fermina.
Senor?
Senor.
Over there please.
Come on, come on!
Mm-hmm.
Mmm.
Try it.
Tell me
what you think.
Delicious.
Absolutely delicious.
What is it?
Eggplant.
More, please.
Perhaps, as an act
of remembrance,
we should name
our next child
Eggplant Urbino.
I love you
above all else.
More than anyone else
in the world.
The important thing in marriage
is not happiness
but stability.
And love.
Nothing is
more difficult than love.
Senora, buy my parakeets.
Look, they're very pretty.
Senor Ariza,
we wanted
to thank you.
Sorry?
You wrote letters
for us.
Ah, yes.
I remember, yes.
It was the only time
I wrote letters for...
for both lovers.
It was like writing to myself.
We're married now.
Good.
We wanted to ask you,
will you be godfather?
Yes, of course.
He's our first son.
Yes, I will be honored.
I'll be damned.
You screw just like your father.
Well, I just dropped in
to tell you
I've decided to retire
and I'm appointing you
president of the company.
And you, senorita,
please feel free to continue.
I swear on my word of honor that I have
not seen your face.
So, please.
Shh!
Shh.
Stop it.
You'll wake Fermina.
It's Sunday.
It's Sunday today.
You've... you've missed mass.
You haven't taken
your communion
for at least
three weeks.
Have you lost
your faith?
- Doctor.
- Yes.
Look at me.
What?
What is it?
Her smell
is in my nostrils.
I have the right
to know who she is.
Her name is
Barbara Lynch.
How long has it been
going on?
Three months,
nearly four.
- Where did you meet her?
- She's a patient.
What is...
what is she,
this... this patient?
A doctor of theology,
a Protestant.
She has a mission
by the harbor.
I thought
at least you...
you'd be a man
and deny
the whole thing.
I thought
at least you'd...
you'd lie to me.
I f... I feel
as though
a great weight
has lifted
from my shoulders.
I... I will put
an end to it.
And I'll go
to my confessor
and ask
for absolution.
Come on, let's go,
it's going to rain.
I have been waking
in the early hours
of the morning
and then unable
to go back to sleep.
And I have
sudden stabbing pains
in my chest.
Worst of all,
in the afternoons I...
I simply want to weep
uncontrollably.
I think
I am going to die.
That would be best.
Then we could both
have some peace.
Bedtime, kids.
Go.
We're going to eat our
dinner, Aunt Fermina.
Thank you. Thank you.
Do you still
recognize me...
the fat old thing
that I have become?
It's been over a year
and not a whisper,
not a hint.
Nobody knows
where she is.
I have made
myself believe
that if she were dead
I would have heard.
All I can do
to keep myself sane
is to follow
my routine:
sells flowers
in the market.
Triola...
I-I don't exactly know
who she was.
nothing memorable
to report.
Routine is
like rust.
I could stay here
forever.
You should have come
sooner.
You did
the right thing...
teach him a lesson.
And what happened
to the man
who sent you
all those telegrams?
Oh, he's very
grand now.
President of the River Company
of the Caribbean.
Hmm.
Do you still see him?
Of course not.
And anyway...
he's not a man.
He's a ghost.
It was all
an illusion.
And you,
Hildebranda,
what happened
to your married man?
He stayed married.
- Three days!
- Less than that.
Can I take care
of your horse?
Uh-huh.
It is better
to arrive in time than...
than to be
invited, no?
- Hildebranda.
- Juvenal.
- Are your boots still killing you?
- Thank you, God.
How good you are.
I must get the children
ready for supper.
- Come on, kids.
- I'll go first.
- No, I'll go first.
- I'll go first.
I'll go first.
What are you
doing here?
Well, I know
you would be too proud
to return on your own,
so I have...
I have come
to fetch you.
I... I thought
we might have
a second honeymoon.
But the following night,
while the old man slept...
- Oh, dear God, now what?
- Shh, please.
Shh, Fermina.
Thank you, God.
Thank you.
Excuse me.
It's been a long time
since I've seen her.
Good evening.
And she has changed,
Ricardo.
But, what was worst,
is that her husband
seemed younger than ever.
And I had this...
terrible thought that
she would die first.
Heaven forbid.
Heaven forbid.
And it made me realize
that I have grown
older too.
Those stairs...
up and down those stairs
will kill me.
Uh, I'm not afraid of death,
I'm afraid of old age.
So...
I doubt I will be
coming here so often.
Why are you so
successful with women?
Um...
because they
see in me someone...
guilty.
In need of love.
Someone who will not...
harm them.
My heart has more rooms
than a whore house, Ricardo.
What number are
you on now?
Prepare yourself
for a shock.
I'm on number 622.
Impossible.
I speak the truth...
Some time ago...
I forget exactly when...
Uncle Leo asked me to
keep an eye on the daughter
of some distant relation
of ours from Puerto Padre.
She was being sent
here to college
to become a teacher.
And then,
little by little,
I won her confidence
and affection.
And in due course, the doors
of heaven opened to her.
Her name is America Vicuna.
We see each other
on Sundays.
We are quite open about our,
what shall I say?
Friendship.
For one thing,
the difference in our ages
places us above suspicion.
Someone has died.
Huh-uh.
It's Pentecost.
No.
No, it must be a...
a very big fish if they are ringing
the cathedral bells.
Mmm.
America.
You must go back
to college.
My driver will take you.
There is something I have to do.
Fermina...
I have waited for this
opportunity for 51 years,
nine months and four days.
That is...
how long I have loved you
from the first moment I cast eyes on you
un... until now.
Florentino Ariza...
get out of here!
Get out!
"Florentino Ariza,
you are a dreadful,
insensitive human being.
How dare you
enter my house
on the day my beloved
husband died
and utter such monstrous,
ridiculous sentiments?
You have put me in
a mortal rage,
which has caused me
to think about you without wanting to.
Do you understand?
I do not want to think about you.
Stay out of my life."
Go, donkey, go!
Hi, dear.
Let's not waste time.
I don't want to
see a movie.
Do you know what
I want to do?
Before you go home,
I have something to tell you.
Pull over.
Pull over, please.
I'm going to get married.
It's a lie.
Old men don't get married.
Who is she?
- Do you want to cry?
- No!
I don't know
who she is.
But whoever she is,
she has ruined my life.
America, you must...
I don't want to hear it,
Florentino.
I'm warning you.
"Please allow me to wipe
the slate clean.
Age has no reality
except in the physical world.
The essence of
a human being
is resistant to
the passage of time.
Our inner lives
are eternal,
which is to say that our spirits remain
as youthful and vigorous
as when we were
in full bloom.
Think of love
as a state of grace...
not the means
to anything,
but the alpha
and omega.
An end in itself.
Think of love as
a state of grace...
not the means to
anything,
but the alpha
and omega.
An end in itself."
The messenger is
waiting for a reply.
Mother, what is it?
Someone wants to
call on me.
Who?
Don Florentino Ariza.
The man who owns
the riverboats?
You know what they say
about him?
No.
They say he has
never had a woman.
In fact, they say
his tastes are
quite the opposite.
They say he
has a secret office
where he takes boys he picks up on
the docks at night.
I simply
don't believe that.
I've known him since
he was a boy.
He's an honorable man.
Everything in the world
has changed.
I haven't.
Have you?
What does it matter now?
I've just turned
Yes, we are two old people
about to be ambushed by death.
Do you believe
in God?
No.
But I am afraid of Him.
Some of your letters
were a great comfort.
I'm glad to know
you received them.
What... what I most
admired about them
was their simplicity.
They helped me
a great deal.
In what way?
They helped me
regain some kind
of peace.
You cannot
imagine how happy
I am to know that.
But I don't agree with
everything you say.
We have nothing in common
except memories.
The young people we
were are banished...
that was all
an illusion.
Not for me.
Well...
I thought this
might amuse you.
That must be
At least.
I have something
to say.
In my experience,
when anyone says that,
it's bound to
be unpleasant.
These frequent visits
from the man you are seeing
are unseemly.
Ofelia, it's none
of your business.
He is company for Mama.
- He consoles her.
- Consoles her?
All he needs to do to
complete his consolation
is to climb into
her widow's bed.
Ofelia.
But don't you believe
that love justifies
anything and everything?
Love is ridiculous
at our age.
But at theirs,
it's revolting.
The only thing
that hurts me
is that I don't have
enough strength
to give you the beating
that you deserve
for being so insolent
and evil-minded.
But you will leave
this house right now
and I swear to you
on my mother's grave
that you will not set foot
in it again as long as I live.
Ofelia, Mama,
let's not...
Life crippled that
poor man 50 years ago
because he was too young and now you
want to do it because we are too old.
What I'd like most is
to walk out of my house
and keep going,
going, going,
and never come back.
Well, you...
you could take a boat.
Well...
I might.
I might
just do that.
I have one.
The New Fidelity.
It's...
it's leaving soon.
It's eight days
up-river,
and five days
on the return.
Travel is good for
the troubled spirit.
Splendid vision
of the Earth,
passing, changing...
as we travel by.
Come in.
Are your quarters
to your liking?
It is
the Presidential Suite.
It was my idea
to install it.
I wanted to call it
the Honeymoon Suite.
Do you want to
be alone?
If I did, I wouldn't have
told you to come in.
Juvenal is a good man.
Is a good husband.
I can't imagine
a better one.
But when I look back,
I suppose there...
were more difficulties
than pleasure.
Too many useless
arguments.
Too much anger.
Maybe it's time...
to ask ourselves,
with our strong
desire to live,
what to do with
the love that has been left behind
without a master?
It's incredible
how one can be happy
for so many years
in the midst of
so many problems,
so many squabbles.
Damn it.
And not really know
if it was love or not.
Go now.
Not now.
I smell like
an old woman.
I have never been happier
in all my life.
Oh, my love
What wouldn't I
do for you
Just to take you
for a second
Away from the world
And close to me
Oh, my love
Like the Magdalena River
That it melts
into sands from the sea
I want to melt into you
There are love affairs
That wait until winter
to blossom
And get greener
at night in the fall
Just like this love
that I feel for you.
Tomorrow we reach
our last port-of-call...
La Dorada.
La Dorada.
And then...
turn back for home.
Don't look.
Why not?
Because you won't like it.
I have waited for this moment
for 54 years.
Yes. Yes, you...
you've told me before.
I have remained
a virgin for you.
You're a liar.
- Captain, Captain.
- Thank you, sir.
Captain?
- Um, speaking hypothetically...
- Hi, how are you?
Hello.
Speaking hypothetically,
would it be possible
to make the...
- Captain.
...return trip without stopping?
- Thank you.
- Without cargo
or passengers, without
coming into any port...
Thank you.
...without...
without anything?
It's possible.
But only hypothetically.
As you know better than I,
the company has contracts to fulfill.
But there is one thing
that could be done.
What is that?
If we had a case of
cholera onboard.
Ooh.
We'd hoist the yellow flag
and be quarantined.
Well then, let's do that.
I command this ship,
but you command me.
If you're serious, just give
me the order in writing
and we will leave
right now.
I love you,
my crowned goddess.
We're going to
stay like this.
You can't mean it.
From the moment
I was born,
I have never said anything
I did not mean.
And how long do you...
you think we can...
stay like this?
Forever.
Forever?
After 54 years,
seven months
and 11 days and nights,
my heart was
at last fulfilled.
And I discovered,
to my joy,
that it is life
and not death
that has no limits.
I think of you
every day
I think of you
a little bit more
I tear my reason apart
And I keep
thinking of you
And I keep
thinking...
Down the Magdalena
Down
the Magdalena
I'm going to Cartagena
I'm going
to Cartagena
I'm going,
I'm going
I'm going, I'm going
I'm always sailing away
I'm always
sailing away
Along with my woman
Along with
my woman
Singing and singing
Singing
and singing
Down the Magdalena
Down
the Magdalena
I'm always sailing away
I'm always
sailing away
Along with my woman
Along with
my woman
Singing and singing
Singing
and singing
Down the Magdalena
Down
the Magdalena
Already many women
Already
many women
Have crossed the river
Have crossed
the river
Already in my memories
Already
in my memories
Down the river
Down
the river
Down the Magdalena
Down
the Magdalena
I'm going to Cartagena
I'm going
to Cartagena
Down the Magdalena
Down
the Magdalena
I'm going to Cartagena
I'm going
to Cartagena
Down the Magdalena
Down
the Magdalena
I'm going to Cartagena.
I'm going
to Cartagena
I'm going,
I'm going
I'm going, I'm going.
sub2srt by (Yeolno)
Ah, little scoundrel.
There you are.
You are a bad boy.
Come on.
Hop on.
Like you always do.
Holy sacraments!
You'll kill yourself!
Only God knows how much
I loved you.
- Someone has died.
- Huh-uh.
- It's Pentecost.
- No no, it must be a very big fish
if they are ringing
the cathedral bells.
Florentino, lay down.
Let's do it again.
Please?
Tolling like that must
be for a governor at least.
Or...
What?
What is it?
America, you must
go back to college.
My driver will take you.
There is something I have to do.
My deepest
sympathy.
Your father
was a saint.
- My condolences.
- I'm so sorry.
We would still
have cholera
if it had not
been for him.
My sympathies,
Mrs. Urbino.
Let's go, Mom.
- See you all later, gentlemen.
- See you later.
Mama, I'll stay
if you want me to.
Fermina, I have waited
for this opportunity
for 51 years,
nine months
and four days.
That is how long
I have loved you,
from the first moment
I cast eyes on you until now.
I repeat
to you once again
my vow
of eternal fidelity
and everlasting love.
Florentino Ariza...
get out of here!
Get out!
And don't show your face again for
the years of life that are left to you.
And I hope there are
very few of them.
Florentino Ariza!
Florentino!
Ah!
- That's not a telegram, Carlos.
- Come on, come on.
Deliver this, please,
to Senor Lorenzo Daza.
Old house,
Park of Evangels.
New in town,
a rough diamond.
Owns mules,
lots of mules.
Thank you, Lotario.
Thank you.
Yes yes, I'm coming.
I'm coming.
Last time you charged me
that's double what I paid for this
whole abbey cloister... what?!
Senor Lorenzo Daza.
Yes.
Oh, good news.
Good news!
No reply.
Look at the shape
of the letter.
Not "U" but "A."
M-me...
M-m... me...
mis...
mist...
mistook...
Senor, Senor!
Tak... mistook...
mistake-taken...
Good.
Good.
Very good.
Mistook, mistake,
mistaken.
- What do you want?
- Look, I didn't do anything.
Don't you greet
your mother?
Florentino,
have you eaten?
Have you eaten?
"Fermina Daza,
for I have learned
that is your majestic
immortal name.
I write
this very short note
in order
to let you know...
that I love you."
- You haven't been to bed.
- Shh!
- Are you ill?
- No.
You are so pale, my son.
Are you sure?
- I'm not ill.
- Let me feel your head.
Let me feel your head.
What are you writing,
a book?
No, a letter.
All these pages,
and they're just one letter.
But what kind of a letter?
Holy Mother.
It is a love letter.
Oh, my son,
who is she?
Her name is...
Fermina Daza.
They're new in town.
Her mother is dead.
Her father owns mules.
And, Mama, I have discovered
the reason for my existence.
Don't talk such
nonsense, my son.
That's it!
Come on, come on,
come on.
But there is money in mules.
Does Fermina Daza
return your love?
"I've discovered..."
I don't know.
We haven't spoken.
That's why I'm writing
the letter.
If I can find the opportunity,
I'll give it to her,
but she's always
with her aunt.
Then you must
win over the aunt, not the girl.
It's him!
It is the telegram boy.
Walk on.
Eh-hh.
- Let me stand next to her.
- No!
Senorita Daza,
all I ask is that you accept
a letter from me.
- Not now.
- When?
Afterwards.
Corpus Christi.
- Corpus Christi.
- Amen.
Welcome, Fernando!
Papa, I'm going
to wish
Mother Superior
a happy Christmas.
This is the greatest moment
in my life.
Give it to me.
It was very long.
I made it shorter.
Wait!
It's a flower
of promising.
Go.
And don't see me again
until you hear from me.
My Holy Mother.
My Holy Mother.
It is cholera, my son.
It is cholera.
- No, Mama.
- My son!
I gave her the letter.
Now I must wait
for her reply.
Yeah.
Then enjoy your pain.
Take advantage of it now
while you are young.
And suffer, my son,
suffer all you can,
because these things don't
last your whole life.
May she answer soon.
She won't.
Florentino!
Florentino!
What the hell
you are doing?
It's not an American ship,
it's British.
It's the mail from Liverpool.
British.
Come here.
What is wrong with you?
This isn't love.
It's madness.
Give me, give me.
Up up up up.
No, wait wait.
Fly now, go.
What is wrong
with you?
You need to take
your mind off her.
Come with me
to the whorehouse if...
Yes?
Oh, how much is it
to send a telegram
to the village
of Piedras de Moler?
- Piedras de Moler?
- Uh-huh.
Uh... let me see.
It's...
it's not on our list.
You don't... you don't
send telegrams to Piedras de Moler?
- No.
- Th... then...
good day to you.
Senorita!
"Dear Florentino Ariza...
I am sorry that I have
made you wait so long
for my reply.
I ask your forgiveness.
Please, write to me
again soon."
"Crowned goddess, I enclose
what I know is
a worthless memento.
I also write this verse
in honor of my love for you."
"I think of you every moment.
Now that spring is here,
thoughts of you fill me with life.
I will love you forever.
Forever."
Shh-hhh.
Shhh.
- It's him.
- Of course it's him.
- Senorita Escolastica?
- Shhh.
Senorita Escolastica,
please turn apart so I can talk
privately to the young lady.
I have something important
to ask her.
What impertinence!
There's nothing that has to do with her
that I cannot hear.
Then I will not
say anything.
But I warn you,
you will be responsible
for the consequences.
- Fermina Daza.
- I am here.
We've written
too many letters
and too much time
has passed.
So now...
crowned goddess,
I make this vow.
I swear to you
my eternal fidelity
and everlasting love,
and I ask in all humility
to do me the great honor
of marrying me.
You...
you must give me time.
Fermina, say yes!
Fermina, I may not be married,
but I know about love.
Even if you're
dying of fear,
even if you are sorry later,
because whatever you do,
you will be sorry
all the rest of your life if you say no.
Believe me, I know
what I'm talking about.
Yes, very well.
I will marry you
if you... if you promise
not to make me eat
eggplant.
Who is he?
Who is he?
Who is he?
Who is this
Florentino Ariza?
Huh?
And Mother Superior
says that you write letters to him?
And you... you!
You are to blame.
No!
Aunt!
No!
No!
Daughter, daughter,
listen to your father.
Listen to your father.
Everything I do,
I do it because...
because I...
okay, I'll try.
I'll try, but...
but I have to... I have to ex...
I have to explain myself.
I have to explain myself.
It's difficult because I'm a plain man.
But ever since
your mother died,
you've been...
you've been...
a daughter...
a daughter is a jewel.
Is a jewel. I'm...
I'm... I'm a rough diamond, but you're...
you're...
you're the... the crown.
And I don't... I don't...
I don't work for me.
We didn't come here for me.
We came here for you.
For you!
But you don't know how...
just how beautiful you are.
You-you-you...
you're... you're...
you're much too beautiful
to marry a telegraph operator.
We have bigger fish to fry,
and believe me... believe me,
at your age,
love is an illusion.
Christ, by Christ I swear,
I swear,
I swear to Christ...
Good morning,
good morning.
You and I must talk...
man to man.
Ahhhh.
When my wife died
I set myself one goal.
One goal...
to turn my daughter
into a great lady.
Now that's... that's a long road
to travel for a mule trader.
I've never had a drink
this early in the morning.
Better start now.
You're going to need it.
I came to this town
because...
well, here was the possibility
of a grand marriage.
Then an unforeseen
obstacle
to the plan that I have
fought for with my life...
you.
So I've come to make
a polite request.
Get out of our way.
Have you spoken to her?
None of that. None of that.
This is a matter for men
and it will be decided
by men.
Be that as it may,
I cannot answer without knowing
what she thinks.
Don't force me
to shoot you.
Shoot me.
There is no greater glory
than to die for love.
Pack!
- Where are we going?
- To our death!
You'd better explain.
I'm not leaving.
Take it to him now.
- What is this?
- They leaving.
They going
to the country.
- Hurry up!
- Where are you going?
He's taking me away.
- Sit down!
- Fermina.
Don't you dare
talk to him!
- Where are you talking her?
- He's taking me away!
Get out of our way.
Hyah!
Hyah!
Get back.
Get back.
I think of you
every day
I think of you
a little bit more
I tear my reason apart
Something inside me
gets destroyed
C'mon, mule.
I think of you
every day
I think of you
a little bit more
And I keep
thinking of you
And I keep
thinking.
- That's bad. Five more.
- Take away all I have, right?
Aunt Fermina!
Senora, may I help you?
Hi, princess,
What are you here for?
Cousin Fermina?
I have a surprise for you.
Cousin.
He wants me to fix
a wedding date.
- Will you?
- Of course.
- Excuse me, Senoritas.
- Make it well into the future.
Your father said he will
keep you here for a year at least.
A year is nothing.
We will exchange telegrams
as we used to exchange
letters.
And our love will triumph.
There is no man on Earth more
perfect than Florentino Ariza.
And you, Hildebranda,
are you in love?
A married man.
Do you
exchange letters?
No.
Secret glances.
It all seems difficult
and impossible now,
but I just know that we must
learn to be happy without love.
And in spite of it.
Happy without love?
Yes.
Happy without love.
I want to eat the tender flesh
of every word
she has written to me
over and over.
I hope I survive.
- But danger is everywhere.
- Fire!
If the suffering of your own
heart doesn't kill you,
the ever-recurring
civil war might.
And there is the disease
that comes between
the burst of bloodshed,
the deadly choking embrace
of cholera.
Dead collectors!
My daughter is...
She is even more impossible
to predict than war.
She grabs hold,
then suddenly she lets go.
- Daddy! He's dead, too.
- She grabs hold,
she lets go.
Florentino!
Up here!
Stop it, stop it.
It will be all three of you, I promise.
All in good time.
So which one
is it going to be?
No no, my beloved
is returning soon.
I have to keep myself pure.
And I will only lose
my virginity for love.
Oooh.
That is such a bad idea.
Don't go, Florentino.
I will be back...
but not for some time.
Let's go, let's go.
So the worst years
of my life passed.
I counted the eternal minutes
one by one
as I waited for her return.
But I do not mind.
I will keep watch
for all of eternity.
I will keep watch
until I die if need be.
I stand vigil for her
beside the lighthouse.
My heart is like the sea...
endless and everlasting,
even while it is as turbulent
as the crashing waves.
Florentino, what are
you doing here?
Ricardo, the young lady I'm going
to marry is coming back tonight.
I'm waiting for her.
Come on.
Come on!
Ricardo the lighthouse keeper
is my only friend.
He does not understand.
I must be here
to will her home.
I delegate to you the authority
to run this household...
and turn over to you
the keys to your life.
Crowned goddess, you are
the coming of the dawn.
Like spring, you have
returned to the one newborn.
Mom, Mom, there it is, Mom!
Yes, yes. Come on, come on.
- That one, too? That one.
- No no, that one over there.
Thank you.
Coconut candy!
Sweets for your sweetie.
Coconut candy!
The Arcade of Scribes is not
a place for a crowned goddess.
No.
No, please.
Forget it.
Wh-wh-what do you mean
"forget it"?
I just...
I just realized
this... this moment
when I saw you.
What?
What did you realize?
What is between us...
is nothing more
than an illusion.
It... it clouded
my eyes.
I'm so sorry.
You... you just...
realized it?
Yes.
The moment I saw you.
Make him well.
Please.
- Dr. Juvenal Urbino?
- He's a busy man.
- This is urgent.
- No. Appointments only.
Cholera... my mistress
has cholera.
No, you can't go up there.
You need to wear a mask.
I'm Hildebranda Sanchez,
the patient's cousin.
She's upstairs.
I would like you to be present, please,
when I examine her.
Her father's with her.
Oh, thank you.
Thank you for coming.
I pray to God
you can do something.
They say you know more
about cholera than a...
Under the tongue.
Vomiting?
How many times?
Once, twice?
Twice.
Diarrhea?
- Severe?
- I don't...
- What?
- I... I don't know.
I've never had it before.
Sit up, please.
It is an intestinal
infection.
What?
It's not cholera?
No.
I'll prescribe medicine.
Three days at home
and she'll be well again.
Did you hear that?
Oh.
Doctor, wait wait.
Doctor, wait! How did you learn
so much about cholera?
I, uh, studied in Paris
under Professor Proust.
All the things you've done
for the city... the clean water,
- closed sewage...
- Your daughter.
- Yes?
- She's very beautiful.
Thank you.
Senorita.
I would like to, um...
take your pulse.
Stick out
your tongue, please.
Mm-hmm.
You are like a...
a new-sprung rose.
Thank you.
Do you like music?
What is the point
of that question?
Music is important
for one's health.
No! No, don't!
Doctor!
Do not go.
I saw it all.
I saw it all.
I... I told your daughter
that she is like a rose.
True enough, but one
with too many thorns.
Up up up!
You open that window and apologize.
I have nothing to apologize for.
I closed the window to keep out the sun.
Don't backtalk back to me, okay?
Do as I tell you.
Say something... now!
I offer you my most
heartfelt apology, sir.
Her education.
Let me escort you
to the carriage.
Senor.
I... I would like
your permission
to write
to your daughter.
Ahh.
I will go and find her.
I won't let her go.
My destiny in life
is to love Fermina.
I will win her back.
Hildebranda, look!
Aye, beautiful!
Mmmmm,
another one.
Gala Placidia, I told you
not to accept it.
Oh, I know that,
milady,
but is hard to say
no to Dr. Urbino.
How many is that now?
Seven.
- You must reply.
- We're not going to discuss it.
We must hurry.
The Belgian photographer
is expecting us.
Gala Placidia,
help us to dress.
Oh, yes, milady,
it is perfect.
Ladies, very still.
I will count
to five now.
One, two, three...
four, five.
One, two, three!
Benny Centeno!
Benny, Benny, Benny...
Move aside!
Move aside!
Benny!
Champion!
Please get in, I'll take you
wherever you want to go.
Benny, Benny, Benny!
Who is Benny Centeno?
He just won the boxing
championship in Panama.
Oh.
This is so nice.
I could spend the rest
of my life here.
Oh, ay, my boots
are killing me.
I'll have to take them off.
I'll take off mine too.
Let's see who
finishes first.
Oh!
Mmm.
You won.
You won.
But now I realize it
wasn't my boots at all.
It is this wire cage
under my skirt.
Hmm, nothing could
be simpler.
Take it off.
I won't look.
Ay!
I am waiting.
We want to go home.
Whoa whoa whoa.
Read my letters.
I want your answer.
He's very beautiful.
When he covered his eyes
and I saw his perfect teeth
between those rosy lips,
I wanted...
oooh, eeeoh.
I wanted to devour him
with kisses.
What a whore you are.
"Dear Senor Urbino,
I give you my permission
to speak to my father."
Senora.
Forgive me for keeping
you waiting, Transito,
but I have to practice
my singing.
You never know when there's
going to be a funeral, eh?
But, please please.
So...
is there a problem?
You get the money
I send each month?
Thank you.
You are a kind man, Don Leo.
I am not kind.
I am just,
unlike my brother Pius.
Something had to be done.
Pius should have made
a proper provision for my son.
Well, he did not
and I did.
So?
I've come...
to ask if
you can help him.
- Who?
- Your nephew.
My son Florentino.
What kind of help?
A job.
Well, I thought he had a job
at the telegraph office.
Yes, but I'm asking you
to find him another job...
any job, as long as
it's far away.
Some port lost
in the jungle where...
where there is no mail,
no telegraph.
A broken heart.
Yeah.
Hmm.
Hmmm.
How about Villa de Leyva?
How far away is that?
Oh...
about three weeks.
I am nothing.
I will not heal...
not for all time.
I'm struck by
the lightning of love
and burned beyond repair.
She's a splinter that
cannot be pulled out.
She's part of me,
everywhere I go.
Everywhere, she is.
- Hello.
- Fermina.
What are you doing?
Turn off the light.
I want...
absolute darkness.
You forget, Doctor,
this is the first time
I've slept
with a stranger.
Do you love me?
Don't be frightened.
We are man and wife.
I want you to love every...
every moment
of our honeymoon.
I can't wait
to show you Paris.
It is a...
a city of love.
You have
a beautiful smile.
Thank you.
I think my sense of smell
is overdeveloped.
Well, that would be because
your olfactory organ's...
I'm sorry
I mentioned it.
Shhh.
Don't forget I have
met them before.
I remember it
very well.
And I'm still angry.
I've... I've never been able to
understand how your thing works.
How ugly it is.
Even uglier than
a woman's thing.
Yes.
Besides, I think it has...
too many bits on it.
That's astounding.
My doctoral thesis was
on the advantage...
I don't want
a medical lesson.
No. No.
This is going to be
a lesson in love.
The black flag!
That's the plague flag.
Give them a wide berth.
Please, help us!
Captain!
- They're dying of cholera!
- Cholera!
Please!
Good Heavens! Careful,
don't get too close...
Please, help us!
Captain! Help us!
Cholera!
Help me! Please.
Don't leave.
God! What's that?
Help me! Please!
Keep her safe, protect her
from harm.
Good night,
my crowned goddess.
Go go.
Go on and forget all about it.
This never happened.
Who occupies that cabin...
the middle one?
- Three women.
- Three women?
They have three cabins
and they both connect together.
It makes one big one.
- Who are they, these women?
- I don't know.
- You go on.
- We'll see.
- See her eyes?
- My, Rosalba.
He looks very sweet.
And so shy.
It's the shy ones
you must look out for.
- Carefully, it's fragile.
- Get out of the way.
He's staring at you.
Bye!
Fermina, my vow...
I've broken my vow.
You shouldn't have
come back, my son.
I had to.
Why?
Something happened and...
I had to be near
Fermina again, Mama.
- That's all.
- But she's not here.
What do you mean
she's not here?
She's in Paris
on her honeymoon.
She'll be gone a long time...
more than one year.
Maybe two years.
- That's not true, Mama.
- It is true, my son.
- No.
- It is true.
At least two years.
- No.
- No, Mama.
Please don't cry.
Oh.
Please...
please don't waste your life.
You must forget her.
You must find someone else
who will help you forget.
I can't forget, Mama.
I will
never forget, Mama.
I will never forget, Mama.
Senora, senora!
Be careful! Senora!
- Senora.
- Come on, boys.
Open fire!
They destroyed my house,
Transito!
They destroyed my house.
Come in.
I need a bed...
on the floor, anywhere.
Just until I can
rebuild my house.
Who knows how long
this war will last.
Come on, drink.
You must stay here.
- So you have the room?
- No.
It is a shame.
My own bedroom is too small.
But if you don't mind...
sharing with my son.
Florentino?
An emergency.
The Widow Nazaret,
her house has been damaged.
War has no respect
for anybody.
She needs a bed.
You can sleep in your hammock.
I'm so scared!
If it wasn't enough
to lose my husband,
now this.
He died three years ago.
Help me, help me.
My dead husband
always undid my laces.
Help me, please.
Help me.
I've never been
in the same bed
with any other man...
ay... other than
my dead husband.
He's in his coffin now
under the ground.
I'm so happy!
I'm happy
because only now
do I know for certain
where he is
when he's not at...
home!
Women.
Number one...
unknown lady in boat.
The first...
wondrous...
explosion.
Number two...
the Widow Nazaret...
while doing it,
only talks of
her dead husband.
Number three...
Esmeralda Arau...
a skinny,
wiggling tadpole
who'd walk me
through the ferns.
Number four...
Maria Estevez...
very dangerous.
We were so close
to the street,
anyone could
have heard us.
This is the cure
for the pain
of Fermina.
What is it?
Nothing, my son, nothing.
- For a moment I...
- What?
I didn't know
who you were.
It happens to me
more and more,
but it... it goes.
Give me your hand.
Give me your hand.
Ma... I have work
to do, Mama.
Work? What work?
You need to find a job and to get paid.
I can't keep you forever.
I... I... I have
something to tell you.
You are going
to marry the widow.
Oh, no.
- What did you say?
- Ma... Mama...
Did you say you had
something to tell me?
Yes, I honestly believe...
I'm getting over the worst.
What was her name again?
Fermina.
Fermina.
Fermina.
I begin to feel free.
The pain is gone.
It's gone.
Now, it took Paris,
the city of love, to bring about
this blessed
transformation.
But here we are
amongst our dearest friends.
We are happier than
you can know to be here.
And furthermore,
we are overjoyed
to no longer
be two, but three.
The great purpose
of marriage has made itself clear to all
and we thank you,
our dear friends, for your warmth
and your congratulations.
Well, I was wondering
how long it would be
before you came begging me.
- What do you want?
- A job.
I gave you a job...
at Villa de Leyva
and you threw it away.
It is different now.
I want to be
rich like you.
I am not rich.
I'm a poor man with money
which is not the same thing.
Why do you
want to be rich?
So that I can be
someone in society,
I need... I need to be worthy
of a great lady I cannot stop loving.
Who is she?
Married?
Yes, but I'm waiting
for her husband to die.
Is he old?
No, but I'll wait
for however long it takes.
- You're crazy.
- Why?
Because insanity
runs in the family.
You take after
your father.
You never knew him,
my brother Pius.
You know what
his last words were?
He said "The only regret I have
in dying is that I do not die for love."
He said that?
- He really said that?
- On his deathbed.
Nevertheless, all his life he fucked
everything in sight.
So...
you want a job in the River
Company of the Caribbean.
Yes, yes.
Well, are you any good
at, um, writing letters?
I think so, I...
I... I write poetry, too
I enter a poem every year
in the Poetic Festival.
I have never won, but...
So, you have a way
with words, huh?
- Yes.
- Good.
Perhaps you can tell me
what this means.
On my birthday last year
someone made
a speech in my honor.
He said I suffered
from lucid dementia.
Now what does that mean?
Lucid dementia
means you are clearly crazy.
I told you it
ran in the family.
Start tomorrow.
Clerk to the board of directors.
Tamales! Tamales!
Magic inks.
Very light blow.
Invisible ink
for your secret letter.
Sir?
I-I...
- I would like...
- You don't have to say anything.
Does she know
you love her?
Yes.
Yes, and of course,
she loves you.
Yes.
Do her parents know?
No, they don't.
What do you call her?
My flower.
My flower.
All right, this is
what you could say.
"My beautiful
and beloved flower.
Nobody can cut
the stem
of our love.
My life, my soul,
be strong.
Don't give up."
I baptize you in
the name of the Father...
"Don't give up."
I can't read or write.
- Don't worry, I can.
- I got this.
Would you read it to me
and maybe write an answer?
Yeah.
"My beautiful
and beloved flower.
No one can cut the stem
of our love.
My soul,
my life, be strong.
Don't give up
because our love is deeper
than the deepest ocean.
Emilio."
That's...
that's a wonderful letter.
That's a wonderful letter.
I know just what
your answer should be.
This must stop.
- This must stop.
- What must stop?
"Our coffee comes
in strong brown sacks.
Load well, but never
tire your backs.
Unload in Miami,
these coffee beans
and keep them dry...
...by any means."
- What do you call this?
- A-a bill of lading.
- A bill of lading?
- Yes.
- In rhyme?
Yes.
And this..."To James Robinson
and Company, Lombard Street,
London, England.
Beloved sirs.
I write with all
the ardor I can muster
to thank you for your exquisite letter
of 16th Aug.
My heart beat faster
as I read each word.
Oh, sirs, with all
tenderness at my disposal,
I kiss and embrace you
and sign myself, dare I say..."
"...Adoringly."
This is not a business letter.
This is a love letter.
Love is the only thing
that interests me.
Hmm.
Well, the trouble is
without the river navigation,
there is no love.
It must stop.
If you can't write
a straightforward business letter,
you will be put
to picking up trash on the dock.
But I need love.
Don Leo, I need love.
I need love.
Dona Blanca.
- Good afternoon.
- Dona Blanca, so nice to see you.
- You look wonderful, Dona Blanca.
- You know my daughter-in-law?
Yes, of course, Dona Blanca.
Oh, my daughter was
at school with her.
Yes, we paint at the park.
We met in Paris.
I thought her charming.
She has, alas,
a scandal in her family.
- Mother, please.
- Apparently, there is no law,
human or divine,
her father
has not ignored.
And now he's run away.
It's only to be expected
from mules.
She does not
eat eggplant...
and does not
play the piano.
But she is learning
the harp.
- Oh, do play for us.
- Yes.
- Oh, do, please, yes.
- I think not.
Serve the tea.
Well, what news
from the great world?
Don Leo XII of the River Company
says he's going to retire!
Oh, he's been
saying that for years.
And if he does,
who will succeed him?
- Oh, he has a nephew.
- An illegitimate nephew.
- Florentino Ariza.
- Mmm.
Do we know him?
I've seen him many times,
but I can't remember
what he looks like.
Yes, such an odd person.
Impossible to describe.
He's...
he's not a person.
He's a shadow.
Oh. You know him?
I have my period.
How odd.
Just yesterday,
I told my anatomy class
that married women
have their periods
as often as
three times a week.
When can we move
into our own house?
- Not yet.
- When?
Not until your mother dies.
I married a weakling.
Would you have been better off
with Florentino Ariza?
You don't see him...
but I do.
How joyless I am now.
Would I have been
happier with him?
Poor man.
Ah, I am Dr. Juvenal Urbino.
I would like
to see Don Leo.
He is having his siesta.
Please, wait.
Should be awake
in five minutes.
And you are?
His nephew and chief clerk,
Florentino Ariza.
Still asleep.
Please.
Would you like a coffee?
Do you like music?
I like the music
of Carlos Gardel.
I see.
Popular music.
Yes, but...
we must keep performing
the best music in our city.
We must import
the greatest artists
from Europe.
Hmm.
I am working on it.
And of course
the Poetic Festival.
That was my idea.
I... I started it some years ago.
Yes, I know, I know.
Ah, well, I hope
you will attend.
I mean to.
I may even enter a poem.
Really?
How amusing.
Of course,
one needs to...
raise money
for these things.
That is why I am
here to see your uncle.
Hmm. Hmm.
My wife
supports me in this.
I will say more.
My wife is the very
soul of my endeavors.
Without her
I... I would be nothing.
I adore my wife.
Thank God he's awake now.
Ladies and gentlemen,
damas y caballeros,
I welcome you
to the Poetic Festival.
As in years past,
this year's
Golden Orchid will be
presented by
none other than...
my wife.
Just in time.
And the winner of this year's
Golden Orchid is...
Wing Wu Peng.
What?!
It's a scandal!
What was the name?
It sounded Chinese.
It's impossible.
- Read his poem.
- Yes.
- "Your body is a holy garden..."
- Believe me,
my heart goes out to you.
I know you must
have entered a poem
because of how the flower
trembled in your lapel.
That's why I took mine off.
"Your body is
a holy garden..."
Would you like me
to see you home?
Go, horse, go.
I'm sorry to have
been so silent, but...
I'm still very angry.
I understand.
But we should at least
tell each other our names.
I am Florentino Ariza.
Sara Noriega.
Thank you.
Good health.
Would you like
to see my albums?
- Your what?
- Albums...
photographs
of public events.
I'm a teacher
of civics, you see.
Really? Of course
I would like to...
to see them.
What is it?
May I sit beside you...
- and cry?
- Of course.
Of course.
Hmm.
I'm so...
disappointed.
I can't stop.
Maybe you should
loosen your bodice.
It will help you
to feel more...
comfortable, you know?
May I help?
Tomorrow we do it in bed.
You are quite wonderful.
Tell me, how would
you define love?
- Love?
- Mm-hmm.
Love is...
love is everything
we do naked.
Spiritual love
from the waist up,
physical love
from the waist down.
Mm-hmm, yes,
divided love.
That could be a poem...
"Divided Love."
Yes, it could be.
Let's write it together,
a poem on divided love.
We can enter it in
next year's Poetic Festival.
We'd be certain to win.
- Tell me, tell me!
- Yeah.
That's a good idea.
Divided love!
Divided love!
Divided love!
Calm down! Calm down!
Stop it, calm down, horse!
- Miss?
- Calm down.
Miss?
Please, allow me
to give you a lift.
Please.
Thank you.
Hey! Hey!
By the way,
I am Florentino Ariza.
Olimpia Zuleta.
Am I taking you
out of your way?
Not at all.
Not at all.
I would have been in terrible trouble if
I had lost my parasol.
- Why so?
- My husband gave it to me.
Oh.
Married long?
Just over a year.
Just a bride.
He's a very jealous man,
my husband.
What does he do?
He sells trinkets
in the market.
- Oh.
- And pigeons.
Excuse me, sir?
We're here.
Yes, senora.
Ho, ho!
How do I thank you?
You could
sell me a pigeon.
They're not for sale.
Then what must
I do to get one?
Well, you find
her in a storm.
You drive her
back to the coop.
This is how I say thank you.
Go away!
Leave me alone!
Go away! Go away!
I don't know who are you!
- I don't know!
- Help me!
Who am I?
Who am I?
And whose son
are you?
- I'm yours.
- Whose son are you?
- Wake up. Look after her!
- Ay! I fell asleep.
Where am I now?
Uh, Rosy...
Rosy Martinez.
- Oh.
- Who is this Rosy Martinez?
From a children's
story long ago...
Give her the breakfast.
Oh!
At last you are here.
Oh! Where have you been?
You're never
coming to see me.
Oh, you little boy!
Such a wonderful boy!
And his name is...
his name...
Go on! Go! Go!
Go back to your whores!
You took advantage!
The only disease
you ever had was cholera.
No, Mama. You confused
cholera with love.
Mm-hmm.
Didn't you like
the nice gentleman?
Huh?
I must see you again.
And for only one reason.
Not such a nice gentleman.
- Senor Ariza?
- Yes.
The pigeon lady
sends you this
and says please
keep the cage locked.
Um, if it flies again,
she will not send it back.
In many ways it was sinful.
And I am a saint.
Because you see, Ricardo,
I persisted.
I broke down her defenses
and stormed the citadel.
Olimpia Zuleta never refused
the meetings I arranged.
But then, I got
tangled in my own net.
I thought it
would be the same
as it was with the others.
Just another
escape route from Fermina.
But then, I found myself
falling for her.
And I became
a lover in pursuit.
I hunted her.
I was the lover who
never showed his face.
I will never be able
to smell turpentine again...
without thinking of this
blessed afternoon.
No, wait, wait.
What?
What are you doing?
You will see.
No!
No!
No!
He told the police
why he did it.
Doesn't mention you.
There's no more life,
there's not
There's no more life,
there's not
There's no more rain,
there's not
There's no more breeze,
there's not...
The sky is crying for Olimpia.
And so am I.
There's no more crying,
there's not
There's no more fear,
there's not...
What have I done?
What have I done?
Take me there
To where you are
Take me there
Take me there
To where you are
Take me there.
What's the... what's she going to the
market for at this time of the night?
So whose son am I, Mama?
Eh, whose son am I?
I hoped your mother would
have liked my singing.
I know she would.
I know.
The only regret
I have in dying
is that I can't sing
at my own funeral.
Good people!
Good people.
Fellow citizens,
we are gathered here at
the dawn of a new century.
The 20th century
will see the end
of man's suffering.
The 20th century
will bring
us harmony, peace,
and it will bring us light!
"474...
Peruvian spinster, Luisa...
Sunday school teacher."
My destiny in life
is to love Fermina.
Senor?
Senor.
Over there please.
Come on, come on!
Mm-hmm.
Mmm.
Try it.
Tell me
what you think.
Delicious.
Absolutely delicious.
What is it?
Eggplant.
More, please.
Perhaps, as an act
of remembrance,
we should name
our next child
Eggplant Urbino.
I love you
above all else.
More than anyone else
in the world.
The important thing in marriage
is not happiness
but stability.
And love.
Nothing is
more difficult than love.
Senora, buy my parakeets.
Look, they're very pretty.
Senor Ariza,
we wanted
to thank you.
Sorry?
You wrote letters
for us.
Ah, yes.
I remember, yes.
It was the only time
I wrote letters for...
for both lovers.
It was like writing to myself.
We're married now.
Good.
We wanted to ask you,
will you be godfather?
Yes, of course.
He's our first son.
Yes, I will be honored.
I'll be damned.
You screw just like your father.
Well, I just dropped in
to tell you
I've decided to retire
and I'm appointing you
president of the company.
And you, senorita,
please feel free to continue.
I swear on my word of honor that I have
not seen your face.
So, please.
Shh!
Shh.
Stop it.
You'll wake Fermina.
It's Sunday.
It's Sunday today.
You've... you've missed mass.
You haven't taken
your communion
for at least
three weeks.
Have you lost
your faith?
- Doctor.
- Yes.
Look at me.
What?
What is it?
Her smell
is in my nostrils.
I have the right
to know who she is.
Her name is
Barbara Lynch.
How long has it been
going on?
Three months,
nearly four.
- Where did you meet her?
- She's a patient.
What is...
what is she,
this... this patient?
A doctor of theology,
a Protestant.
She has a mission
by the harbor.
I thought
at least you...
you'd be a man
and deny
the whole thing.
I thought
at least you'd...
you'd lie to me.
I f... I feel
as though
a great weight
has lifted
from my shoulders.
I... I will put
an end to it.
And I'll go
to my confessor
and ask
for absolution.
Come on, let's go,
it's going to rain.
I have been waking
in the early hours
of the morning
and then unable
to go back to sleep.
And I have
sudden stabbing pains
in my chest.
Worst of all,
in the afternoons I...
I simply want to weep
uncontrollably.
I think
I am going to die.
That would be best.
Then we could both
have some peace.
Bedtime, kids.
Go.
We're going to eat our
dinner, Aunt Fermina.
Thank you. Thank you.
Do you still
recognize me...
the fat old thing
that I have become?
It's been over a year
and not a whisper,
not a hint.
Nobody knows
where she is.
I have made
myself believe
that if she were dead
I would have heard.
All I can do
to keep myself sane
is to follow
my routine:
sells flowers
in the market.
Triola...
I-I don't exactly know
who she was.
nothing memorable
to report.
Routine is
like rust.
I could stay here
forever.
You should have come
sooner.
You did
the right thing...
teach him a lesson.
And what happened
to the man
who sent you
all those telegrams?
Oh, he's very
grand now.
President of the River Company
of the Caribbean.
Hmm.
Do you still see him?
Of course not.
And anyway...
he's not a man.
He's a ghost.
It was all
an illusion.
And you,
Hildebranda,
what happened
to your married man?
He stayed married.
- Three days!
- Less than that.
Can I take care
of your horse?
Uh-huh.
It is better
to arrive in time than...
than to be
invited, no?
- Hildebranda.
- Juvenal.
- Are your boots still killing you?
- Thank you, God.
How good you are.
I must get the children
ready for supper.
- Come on, kids.
- I'll go first.
- No, I'll go first.
- I'll go first.
I'll go first.
What are you
doing here?
Well, I know
you would be too proud
to return on your own,
so I have...
I have come
to fetch you.
I... I thought
we might have
a second honeymoon.
But the following night,
while the old man slept...
- Oh, dear God, now what?
- Shh, please.
Shh, Fermina.
Thank you, God.
Thank you.
Excuse me.
It's been a long time
since I've seen her.
Good evening.
And she has changed,
Ricardo.
But, what was worst,
is that her husband
seemed younger than ever.
And I had this...
terrible thought that
she would die first.
Heaven forbid.
Heaven forbid.
And it made me realize
that I have grown
older too.
Those stairs...
up and down those stairs
will kill me.
Uh, I'm not afraid of death,
I'm afraid of old age.
So...
I doubt I will be
coming here so often.
Why are you so
successful with women?
Um...
because they
see in me someone...
guilty.
In need of love.
Someone who will not...
harm them.
My heart has more rooms
than a whore house, Ricardo.
What number are
you on now?
Prepare yourself
for a shock.
I'm on number 622.
Impossible.
I speak the truth...
Some time ago...
I forget exactly when...
Uncle Leo asked me to
keep an eye on the daughter
of some distant relation
of ours from Puerto Padre.
She was being sent
here to college
to become a teacher.
And then,
little by little,
I won her confidence
and affection.
And in due course, the doors
of heaven opened to her.
Her name is America Vicuna.
We see each other
on Sundays.
We are quite open about our,
what shall I say?
Friendship.
For one thing,
the difference in our ages
places us above suspicion.
Someone has died.
Huh-uh.
It's Pentecost.
No.
No, it must be a...
a very big fish if they are ringing
the cathedral bells.
Mmm.
America.
You must go back
to college.
My driver will take you.
There is something I have to do.
Fermina...
I have waited for this
opportunity for 51 years,
nine months and four days.
That is...
how long I have loved you
from the first moment I cast eyes on you
un... until now.
Florentino Ariza...
get out of here!
Get out!
"Florentino Ariza,
you are a dreadful,
insensitive human being.
How dare you
enter my house
on the day my beloved
husband died
and utter such monstrous,
ridiculous sentiments?
You have put me in
a mortal rage,
which has caused me
to think about you without wanting to.
Do you understand?
I do not want to think about you.
Stay out of my life."
Go, donkey, go!
Hi, dear.
Let's not waste time.
I don't want to
see a movie.
Do you know what
I want to do?
Before you go home,
I have something to tell you.
Pull over.
Pull over, please.
I'm going to get married.
It's a lie.
Old men don't get married.
Who is she?
- Do you want to cry?
- No!
I don't know
who she is.
But whoever she is,
she has ruined my life.
America, you must...
I don't want to hear it,
Florentino.
I'm warning you.
"Please allow me to wipe
the slate clean.
Age has no reality
except in the physical world.
The essence of
a human being
is resistant to
the passage of time.
Our inner lives
are eternal,
which is to say that our spirits remain
as youthful and vigorous
as when we were
in full bloom.
Think of love
as a state of grace...
not the means
to anything,
but the alpha
and omega.
An end in itself.
Think of love as
a state of grace...
not the means to
anything,
but the alpha
and omega.
An end in itself."
The messenger is
waiting for a reply.
Mother, what is it?
Someone wants to
call on me.
Who?
Don Florentino Ariza.
The man who owns
the riverboats?
You know what they say
about him?
No.
They say he has
never had a woman.
In fact, they say
his tastes are
quite the opposite.
They say he
has a secret office
where he takes boys he picks up on
the docks at night.
I simply
don't believe that.
I've known him since
he was a boy.
He's an honorable man.
Everything in the world
has changed.
I haven't.
Have you?
What does it matter now?
I've just turned
Yes, we are two old people
about to be ambushed by death.
Do you believe
in God?
No.
But I am afraid of Him.
Some of your letters
were a great comfort.
I'm glad to know
you received them.
What... what I most
admired about them
was their simplicity.
They helped me
a great deal.
In what way?
They helped me
regain some kind
of peace.
You cannot
imagine how happy
I am to know that.
But I don't agree with
everything you say.
We have nothing in common
except memories.
The young people we
were are banished...
that was all
an illusion.
Not for me.
Well...
I thought this
might amuse you.
That must be
At least.
I have something
to say.
In my experience,
when anyone says that,
it's bound to
be unpleasant.
These frequent visits
from the man you are seeing
are unseemly.
Ofelia, it's none
of your business.
He is company for Mama.
- He consoles her.
- Consoles her?
All he needs to do to
complete his consolation
is to climb into
her widow's bed.
Ofelia.
But don't you believe
that love justifies
anything and everything?
Love is ridiculous
at our age.
But at theirs,
it's revolting.
The only thing
that hurts me
is that I don't have
enough strength
to give you the beating
that you deserve
for being so insolent
and evil-minded.
But you will leave
this house right now
and I swear to you
on my mother's grave
that you will not set foot
in it again as long as I live.
Ofelia, Mama,
let's not...
Life crippled that
poor man 50 years ago
because he was too young and now you
want to do it because we are too old.
What I'd like most is
to walk out of my house
and keep going,
going, going,
and never come back.
Well, you...
you could take a boat.
Well...
I might.
I might
just do that.
I have one.
The New Fidelity.
It's...
it's leaving soon.
It's eight days
up-river,
and five days
on the return.
Travel is good for
the troubled spirit.
Splendid vision
of the Earth,
passing, changing...
as we travel by.
Come in.
Are your quarters
to your liking?
It is
the Presidential Suite.
It was my idea
to install it.
I wanted to call it
the Honeymoon Suite.
Do you want to
be alone?
If I did, I wouldn't have
told you to come in.
Juvenal is a good man.
Is a good husband.
I can't imagine
a better one.
But when I look back,
I suppose there...
were more difficulties
than pleasure.
Too many useless
arguments.
Too much anger.
Maybe it's time...
to ask ourselves,
with our strong
desire to live,
what to do with
the love that has been left behind
without a master?
It's incredible
how one can be happy
for so many years
in the midst of
so many problems,
so many squabbles.
Damn it.
And not really know
if it was love or not.
Go now.
Not now.
I smell like
an old woman.
I have never been happier
in all my life.
Oh, my love
What wouldn't I
do for you
Just to take you
for a second
Away from the world
And close to me
Oh, my love
Like the Magdalena River
That it melts
into sands from the sea
I want to melt into you
There are love affairs
That wait until winter
to blossom
And get greener
at night in the fall
Just like this love
that I feel for you.
Tomorrow we reach
our last port-of-call...
La Dorada.
La Dorada.
And then...
turn back for home.
Don't look.
Why not?
Because you won't like it.
I have waited for this moment
for 54 years.
Yes. Yes, you...
you've told me before.
I have remained
a virgin for you.
You're a liar.
- Captain, Captain.
- Thank you, sir.
Captain?
- Um, speaking hypothetically...
- Hi, how are you?
Hello.
Speaking hypothetically,
would it be possible
to make the...
- Captain.
...return trip without stopping?
- Thank you.
- Without cargo
or passengers, without
coming into any port...
Thank you.
...without...
without anything?
It's possible.
But only hypothetically.
As you know better than I,
the company has contracts to fulfill.
But there is one thing
that could be done.
What is that?
If we had a case of
cholera onboard.
Ooh.
We'd hoist the yellow flag
and be quarantined.
Well then, let's do that.
I command this ship,
but you command me.
If you're serious, just give
me the order in writing
and we will leave
right now.
I love you,
my crowned goddess.
We're going to
stay like this.
You can't mean it.
From the moment
I was born,
I have never said anything
I did not mean.
And how long do you...
you think we can...
stay like this?
Forever.
Forever?
After 54 years,
seven months
and 11 days and nights,
my heart was
at last fulfilled.
And I discovered,
to my joy,
that it is life
and not death
that has no limits.
I think of you
every day
I think of you
a little bit more
I tear my reason apart
And I keep
thinking of you
And I keep
thinking...
Down the Magdalena
Down
the Magdalena
I'm going to Cartagena
I'm going
to Cartagena
I'm going,
I'm going
I'm going, I'm going
I'm always sailing away
I'm always
sailing away
Along with my woman
Along with
my woman
Singing and singing
Singing
and singing
Down the Magdalena
Down
the Magdalena
I'm always sailing away
I'm always
sailing away
Along with my woman
Along with
my woman
Singing and singing
Singing
and singing
Down the Magdalena
Down
the Magdalena
Already many women
Already
many women
Have crossed the river
Have crossed
the river
Already in my memories
Already
in my memories
Down the river
Down
the river
Down the Magdalena
Down
the Magdalena
I'm going to Cartagena
I'm going
to Cartagena
Down the Magdalena
Down
the Magdalena
I'm going to Cartagena
I'm going
to Cartagena
Down the Magdalena
Down
the Magdalena
I'm going to Cartagena.
I'm going
to Cartagena
I'm going,
I'm going
I'm going, I'm going.
sub2srt by (Yeolno)