This Cuban variation of Rostand's 'Cyrano de Bergerac', co-written by Gabriel Garcia Marquez from his own original novel, is a love letter in four movements, following the seasons of nature and explaining the language of romance in all its forms, from the color of flowers to the handling of a handkerchief. It's an uncomplicated story set in an uncomplicated age (1913 Havana), but nothing is simple for the lonely widower clerk hired (unknown to each other) by a hopeful young couple with all the need but none of the skill to compose their own love letters. Complications arise when the reluctant matchmaker pours his own unfulfilled romantic longings into each eloquent epistle, at first uniting but then dividing his clients: a tongue-tied young aviator, and a beautiful but sheltered girl who (naturally) swoons over every line of poetry but can't quite connect any of it with the clumsy, earthbound object of her affections. In the end everyone involved in the charade gets what he or she deserves, and no one is disappointed, least of all the viewer, having seen one of the more elegant and amusing romantic movies in quite some time.
3 Reviews
A professional letter-writer writes love letters for a couple in Cuba, 1913
netwallah2 February 2006
Warning: Spoilers
In Matanzas, Cuba, 1913, Juan and Maria (Ivonne Lópeza truly lovely dark-haired woman, with a light dusting of freckles) contract with Don Pedro (Victor Laplace), a scrivener, to write their love letters. The young man, Juan, is rather callow, except when enthusing over flight, which brings him into the circle of the pretentious balloonist, and when he abandons the correspondence and leaves town, the letters continue, with postcards from around the world. In the end Maria discovers she is really in love with the one who wrote the letters. Also includes Mirta Ibarra (the director's favourite) as Milagros, a smiling, sympathetic whore who marries a sand captain. The Cuban settings are engagingly tropical, with people working at desks in arcades, and weathered blue paint in rooms...
Letters from the park. The Movie.
ventanea3 May 2006
Juan and Maria two young people who are in love communicate through letters written by penman(Pedro). When the young man leaves town, to become a pilot, the girl discovers she is really in love with the one who wrote the letters. This is a wonderful movie, with three great actors. Victor Laplace, Miguel paneke and one of the most beautiful and talented cuban actress Ivonne Lopez Arenal. Unforgettable story, based on the book of Gabriel Garcia marques and screenplay by Eliseo Alberto. Letters from the park is a masterpiece directed by the legendary Tomas gutierres Alea and photographed for the amazing cinematographer Mario Garcia.
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