Marquez’s epic work as an equally exquisite series

‘Many years later, as he faced the firing squad, Colonel Aureliano Buendia was to remember that distant afternoon when his father took him to discover ice…’ begins the great novel. The ambitious series ‘One Hundred Years of Solitude’ retains the title, and the opening lines, to create Nobel laureate Gabriel Garcia Marquez’s monumental work into an equally exquisite series.

Does the series do justice to one of the most loved books? Well, two different mediums say the same story, in two different languages. And Alex Garcia Lopez’s part 1, of the two seasons of the miniseries, evokes the same universality, sense of longing and loneliness, sociability and solitude as Marquez’s tome!

The first episode is stunning. Dazzling as well as disturbing visuals, coupled with dainty music, come across as if levitating in time, giving a glimpse of what we are about to witness. Claudio Catano as Col Buendia says the famous ‘ice’ lines and it immediately strikes home — it’s a story of familial bonds, tussle of ideologies, and of patterns repeating themselves, again and again.

The story follows the scandalous cousins Jose Arcadio Buendia (Marco Gonzalez) and Ursula Iguaran (Susana Morales), who marry against the family’s wishes. Ursula’s mother warns her that the incestuous relationship would lead to a child with deformity. The fear leads to a chastity belt, till in a fit of rage, Arcadio kills Prudencio Aguilar (Helber Sepulveda Escobar) who taunts him about it. While the judge frees Arcadio, labelling it a legit duel, the ghost of Prudencio robs the couple of their peace. The man decides to take his wife across the mountains to find the ocean.

Fuelled with unbridled enthusiasm, Ursula’s family inheritance, and a couple of fellow adventurers in tow, they embark on a journey! While the ocean eludes for months, they set up a utopian town — Macondo. The Buendia family grows, but the distance isn’t able to mitigate the ghosts of the past. While the adventurous Arcadio gives himself to the discovery of the new, Ursula settles into the role of a matriarch.

Just like its source material, it’s a dense story, and steeped in magical realism. The first episode is crafted so well that one is walking the Macondo streets with Ursula, forever on the run to find her sons. It feels just like how every empty town and street looked through the pandemic, real yet unreal, much like the plague of insomnia.

Universality is the hallmark of Marquez’s writing, and the series reflects that amply, even if not literally. The search for god, brotherly love, sisterly rage — name a theme that’s part of any great book, or a film, and it is there. Magically, as if the Buendia family is your own, and yet very distant.

The unfamiliar faces — much of the cast is Colombian — become the characters instantly. Marco Gonzalez and Susana Morales as the young couple are an embodiment of desire. Diego Vasquez, as the leading man, perfectly lives every strain of being a gutsy leader, guiding father and a tireless explorer. Marleyda Soto as Ursula Buendia is every woman who has to hold it all together with every bit of strength in her sinews. From a grieving husband to leading a thousand men, Claudio Catano as Col Buendia shines. Edgar Vittorino as Jose Arcadio is flawless.

Marquez’s story is that of every man. Right from Vedic philosophy of time being cyclical to the ‘jal samadhi’ that Melquiades takes, ‘One Hundred Years of Solitude’ criss-crosses the myths and realities of many cultures.

The cinematography is fluid and the music ethereal. A magical land, ripe and seductive, the series in the hands of directors Alex Garcia Lopez and Laura Mora is like poetry in cinematic language. It’s an ode to Marquez.