Florentino Araiza, a young telegraph operator in Colombia in the year 1880, falls in love with the beautiful, and rich, Fermina Daza. She loves him too, but unaccountably marries a rich guy. He waits for her for 50 years, remaining faithful in his heart while he has s*x with 600 women. Things end surprisingly well.
This movie didn’t do all that well at the box office — it’s a “literary” movie (translation, not much happens), and the portrayal of Florentino by Javier Bardem is just weird. But the movie is full of wonderful, insighful depictions of human relationships — Florentino and his mother, Florentino and his uncle, Fermina and her flighty but wise cousin. And it’s shot on location in Colombia, which makes for some fantastic scenery. If you liked The Painted Veil and The White Countess, you’ll probably like this one.