Nobel Prize winner Gabriel García Márquez‘s 1967 magnum opus, “One Hundred Years of Solitude,” has long been considered one of the greatest works of modern literature. However, during Márquez’s life, he refused to sell the rights to the novel because he felt a film adaptation would not come close to scratching the surface of this century-long tale. Now, with the blessing of his sons Rodrigo García and Gonzalo García Barcha, who serve as executive producers, Netflix has adapted the sweeping masterwork into a two-part limited series spanning over 16 hours of television. (Netflix hasn’t yet announced when Part 2 will premiere.) With directors Alex García López and Laura Mora at the helm for Part 1, “One Hundred Years of Solitude” is exquisitely detailed and layered in intricate symbolism. The show is one of the most faithful page-to-screen adaptations in recent years.
A tale of family, fate, power and the frailties of humanity, “One Hundred Years of Solitude” begins in the mid-19th century with forbidden love. Amid a euphoric gathering, the audience is introduced to young lovers, José Arcadio Buendía (Marco Antonio González) and Úrsula Iguarán (Susana Morales). Unfortunately, their relatives aren’t basking in the glow of the newlyweds. Because José and Úrsula are first cousins, the family’s fears about inbreeding encroach on the celebration. Úrsula’s mother terrorizes her daughter with sinister predictions that she will birth monstrous babies with pig tails. Enraged by the constant disapproval, José kills a local man for mocking his marriage. Once acquitted of the murder, he and Úrsula pack up and set out to find a place to live away from the stares and jeers. Yet, before the couple begins their quest, Úrsula’s mother reminds her, “No matter where you run, you will never be able to escape true destiny.”
Throughout the first episode, “Macondo,” the pair and the friends who follow them wander across Columbia for years before settling down and building a small village in the middle of a swamp. José promptly names the town Macondo. In this place, no one decides for others. Fairminded and focused, José ensures each quaint house gets equal sunlight and water. Over time, Úrsula gives birth to three healthy children, José Arcadio (Thiago Padilla), Aureliano (Jerónimo Echeverría), and Amaranta (Luna Ruíz), all possessing perfectly human bottoms. Still, as the Buendías quickly learn, there is no true utopia where humans have free will, personal ambitions and lust.
“One Hundred Years of Solitude” Part 1 comprises eight episodes wrapped in haunting images. Cinematographers Paulo Pérez and María Sarasvati unveil an expanding family and Macondo in sequences that echo the Buendías’ past, present and future. Under productions designer Bárbara Enríquez’s vision, the series showcases elements like the lush but treacherous Columbian mountainside to segments of magical realism, including a young girl bleeding in a bathtub in the river and the ghost of a dead man haunting the living. Unlike most book-to-screen adaptations, aspects of this narrative aren’t rushed or skimmed over. As much time as the audience spends on the main characters’ dialogue, the camera also lingers on everything from the various settings of a rapidly expanding Macondo to the loaves of bread and soups in Úrsula’s kitchen.
As the show presses through time, respectability politics, illegitimate children, sibling rivalries, self-harm, incest and mental illness bend and shift the Buendías, driving some family members out and pulling in others. Over the years, their home transforms from a quant bungalow to a sprawling mansion. However, the family dynamics are only one segment of this tale. Previously sequestered from the rest of civilization, Macando’s massive growth opens the doors to government interference. By Episode 6, “Colenel Aureliano Buendía,” there is also a vicious and bloody depiction of Columbia’s Thousands Days War, which pitted conservatives and liberals against one another.
The performances here are exceptional. Marleyda Soto, who plays an elder Úrsula, is practical with a vicious streak. Claudio Catañ, who portrays adult Aureliano, is haunted by premonitions and his ill-fated desires. Meanwhile, Nicole Montenegro and Laura Grueso — the younger and older versions of Rebeca, respectively — haunt each scene they are in, from the minute little Rebeca appears at the Buendía’s door holding a bag of bones to the bold and stunning woman driven by her sexuality. Still, no character is more transformed than José (portrayed by Diego Vásquez in later episodes), who becomes hyper-focused on his inventions and alchemy instead of the contentment of his wife and children.
Though the series’ pacing feels too lackadaisical at times, the beauty of “One Hundred Years of Solitude” allows the viewer to absorb every intricately curated frame and moment. As a result, the Buendías past is a continual echo no matter what generation the story is presently in. It’s a reminder of how much history informs the present and why human beings are so often doomed to repeat it. Moreover, the narrative suggests that isolation and languishing in one’s self-interest frequently breeds the rot of morality.
A monumental undertaking that unpacks every single layer of Márquez’s novel, the series sometimes feels a bit dense, allowing each sequence to air out, even when it feels painful or unnecessary. Reining in the plot for a modern-day television audience might have provided a more thrilling adaptation. Nevertheless, in allowing viewers to meander through the story, “One Hundred Years of Solitude” is presented as the novelist wrote it, with a wealth of detail and profound eloquence.
“One Hundred Years of Solitude” Part 1 premieres on Netflix Dec. 11.