How do you adapt ‘One Hundred Years of Solitude’ into a TV show? By taking creative risks.
As a lifelong admirer of Gabriel Garcia Marquez’s work, I was both thrilled and apprehensive when I heard about the adaptation of “One Hundred Years of Solitude.” Having grown up reading his novels, I have always been captivated by his magical realism and the profound insights he offers into the human condition.
Initially, when Colombian filmmaker Laura Mora was asked to be part of the group transforming Gabriel García Márquez’s novel “One Hundred Years of Solitude” into a television production, her doubts outweighed her enthusiasm.
In a Zoom meeting held in 2018, Mora expressed his initial reaction to the project by saying something along the lines of, “What on earth is going on here?” He found the idea so unexpected that he felt fear, believing it was reckless and imprudent.
For his first movie as a director, Oscar-nominee Rodrigo Prieto brings the new film adaption of Juan Rulfo’s 1955 novel ‘Pedro Páramo.’)
At first, José Rivera, later known for writing the scripts that influenced Mora’s decision, shared the same cautious attitude as Mora.
He remembered thinking, ‘I have no intention of watching that.’ He was skeptical, expecting it to be a disappointment. In his opinion, they were bound to mess it up and the outcome wouldn’t be favorable.
However, just like everyone else who ultimately joined in for this ambitious and confident adaptation (with Part 1 containing eight episodes now streaming), Rivera, Mora, series director Alex García López, and the entire creative team discovered that the most effective way to ensure the series would meet García Márquez’s approval was by taking a leap of faith and making it their unique interpretation. To pay tribute to it, but also let go of the notion of being completely loyal to it.
First published in 1967, Gabriel Garcia Marquez’s “One Hundred Years of Solitude” earned him the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1982. Even more than half a century after its publication, the tale of the Buendía family and their town Macondo, marked by tragicomic events, remains one of the most cherished novels of the 20th century.
In García Márquez’s writing, the fictional town of Macondo stands in for Colombia, and vice versa, encompassing the nation’s rich history within its melodramatic narratives. The town, established by José Arcadio Buendía (initially portrayed by Marco González and later Diego Vásquez) along with his wife, Úrsula Iguarán (first played by Susana Morales and then Marleyda Soto), chronicles the emergence of mysticism, followed by science, politics, and the influence of the Church. As events unfold, Macondo becomes embroiled in a political civil war, with Col. Aureliano Buendía (portrayed by Claudio Cataño) – the son of José Arcadio Buendía – rising to become both a revered revolutionary leader and a figure of infamy.
The extensive scope of this novel made adapting it seem challenging for a long time. Since its publication, there have been whispers about Hollywood attempting to adapt it, with figures like Anthony Quinn and William Friedkin showing interest at different points over the past few decades. However, Gabriel García Márquez, who passed away in 2014, consistently turned down such proposals.
Recognizing the growing influence of streaming services such as Netflix, who are dedicated to nurturing local artists and productions, García Márquez’s family, which includes filmmaker Rodrigo García, seized an opportunity to bring “One Hundred Years of Solitude” to life in a way that was fitting, shooting it in Spanish within Colombia, with the majority of both on-screen and off-screen talent being Colombian. (The series incorporates English subtitles.)
× On the show, García functions as an executive producer, yet he made an effort to keep a hands-off approach. He understood that his involvement could potentially divert the creative team’s focus.
He stated, during their Zoom conversation, that many modifications made on his father’s work seemed overly reverent towards the source material. He added that there was an excessive amount of admiration for the author involved, and suggested that a more authentic adaptation could be achieved if they felt free to make bold changes.
Translating Gabriel Garcia Marquez’s lyrical style and vivid imagery into the format of episodic TV would prove challenging due to the non-linear narrative structure of his work, which doesn’t easily conform to a conventional television timeline.
In his bid to adapt Gabriel Garcia Marquez’s “One Hundred Years of Solitude” for a television series, Rivera recognized the challenge of managing the novel’s non-linear timeline. As the drafts for the 16 episodes were developed and refined by a group of Colombian writers such as Natalia Santa, Camila Brugés, Albatrós González, and María Camila Arias, Rivera organized the sequence of events within the show’s span of a century, which roughly spans from 1850 to the mid-20th century.
Transforming a 400-page novel with minimal dialogue about the Buendía family spanning six generations, along with civil conflicts, passionate love stories, family treachery, unfortunate unions, calculated murders, and more, into a structured 16-hour narrative.
Books
Gabriel García Márquez, who passed away on Thursday at the age of 87, was a highly productive author, with his literary career tracing back to his days as a journalist in the 1950s.
One substantial challenge was finding a way to translate Garcia Marquez’s distinctive storytelling style onto television. Mora and García López aimed to make the setting of the series feel authentic and real. Filmed on location in Colombia with sets that enable characters to roam freely in extended, meandering shots, “One Hundred Years of Solitude” exudes a homemade, dramatic atmosphere.
In the series, one significant risk was taking the opportunity to move away from the typical interpretation of magical realism as a fantastical setting, and instead view it as a poetic landscape. Mora explained, “A place where our actual reality, due to its striking beauty and harshness, transcends any work of fiction. We aimed to achieve this not by artificially creating something new, but rather in an authentic, craftsman-like manner.
García points out that while the book is famously filled with magical elements, it’s also deeply rooted in real-life experiences, exploring complex human relationships, yearnings, and disappointments. He believes this relatability is what makes the book enduring, as it reflects the essence of life itself.
The monetary value of “One Hundred Years of Solitude” remains undiminished, not due to mere passing of time, but because Gabriel Garcia Marquez’s tales continue to function as both a historical record and a cautionary tale – serving as a guide for understanding the past and a warning for the future.
Mora noted that one characteristic of excellent works is their timelessness, providing continual insights about our contemporary world. Regardless of when they were composed, these authors essentially predict or reflect the trends and realities of their respective eras.
The central themes of the show – dealing with political strife, the high toll of peace versus corruption, families fractured and trauma echoing across generations – continue to resonate strongly today. These issues might initially seem specific, but they transcend geographical boundaries.
As a film critic, I found myself utterly captivated by “One Hundred Years of Solitude,” a work that effortlessly defies geographical boundaries, despite its deeply rooted Colombian origins.
Cataño, portraying the renowned Aureliano Buendía, observed that the inherent contradictions within human existence will continue to echo through the ages. This theme, he suggested, transcends cultural boundaries and can be related to by all races on Earth. The complexities and uncertainties in these characters mirror our own human dualities and ambiguities, making it difficult not to connect with them.
Vásquez explains, “I believe its importance and connection stem from the fact that we’ve progressively forgotten things.” He continues, “It’s a pattern that seems to continually recur.
The message is grim, yet timeless, much like Macondo’s tale, which the Buendía family came to understand. It retains its relevance not only in Colombia but also globally, especially in regions grappling with power struggles reminiscent of those depicted by Gabo over four decades ago.
Rivera explains that the book explores several common themes, one of which is the persistent issue of oppressive rule. He suggests that the notion of revolution and the desire for change is something shared by all people. If you agree that Trump embodies tyranny or aspires to be a tyrant, then it’s relevant to today’s world. The question we should ponder, he adds, is who among us possesses the revolutionary spirit? Who might serve as our modern-day Aureliano?
Mora is particularly enthusiastic, albeit with some trepidation, as she prepares to share this quintessentially Colombian narrative with a worldwide audience again.
Mora wonders how a book like ‘One Hundred Years of Solitude’ might strike a chord in a country as divided as the United States currently is. However, he also points out that the world as a whole seems to be deeply polarized. He believes that this novel provides us with a vivid portrayal of just how challenging and perilous such a divided world can be. Yet, he adds, poetry and beauty are the very things that have the power to rescue us from these divisions.
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2024-12-20 03:02