Educational Media Reviews Online

This is an excellent documentary of the life, times, thoughts and writings of Colombian-born Gabriel García Márquez, one of the twentieth century's most notable authors who is most well known for his Nobel prize winning novel, One Hundred Years of Solitude. García Márquez tells us in his own words, without interruption from an interviewer, about his early life in civil-war torn Colombia; his fascinating forays into other creative endeavors, including his law school student days, employment as a journalist (he later founded a journalism school/movement in Cuba); his work in the political arena; and his less well-known work as a screenwriter and filmmaker. He is at his best when ruminating about the unique and important roles and functions of writers in society, particularly in Latin American dictatorships.

The video successfully interweaves narrations of his writings, scenes of daily life in various Colombian locales, and the words of García Márquez himself, into a cogent and coherent package that provides valuable insights into the author's life and times. Several of the author's literary works are briefly discussed and analyzed, including One Hundred Years of Solitude, Love in the Time of Cholera (his personal favorite), No One Writes to the Colonel, and Autumn of the Patriarch. The comments of García Márquez about these literary works will be of interest to both novices and scholars of his works.

Additionally, we are privileged to hear his personal insights into matters as varied as the problems of married couples, the existence of three lives, and the pressures of writing a sequel to One Hundred Years of Solitude. On the problems of married couples, he notes that women say that problems need to be talked over, but he fins that this only results in arguments. Instead, he recommends that husbands and wives trust each other, forget it, and forge on. Trust is required, he says, because each of us has three lives: a personal life, a private life, and a secret life.

An engaging segment of this video deals with his thoughts on his writings after the success of One Hundred Years of Solitude. He was under enormous pressure from his fans and from his publisher to write a sequel, but he desperately avoided this pressure. Instead he wrote Autumn of the Patriarch, a novel totally unlike the Nobel prize winning work.

This video is superbly crafted. It is visually appealing, including informal, relaxed scenes of García Márquez in a private residence, making it appear as though he is speaking directly with the viewer (instead of at him). The narrator has a very pleasing voice and the English subtitles are precise and well done. The scenes of various locales in Colombia add a unique and spicy flavor to the video.

The subtitle, "witch writing," refers to the author's pronouncement at the end of the program, in which he is discussing the writing of his memoirs: "I am trying to free myself from witch-self." With no further explanation provided, the viewer is left to decide for him/herself the meaning of this statement.

This outstanding work is highly recommended for college and university collections supporting coursework in Latin American literature. It will be especially valuable to scholars and others who are very familiar with the major works of García Márquez, but it is also understandable to the novice.