One Hundred Years of Solitude - S1, your thoughts

[seth]

Starting this thread, surprised there isn't already one going for this incredible series. Eager for anyone's thoughts.

PARTIAL SPOILER ALERT: This series is hard to watch, in spite of fantastic settings, fine acting by all, and glorious cinematography.

A beautiful and rebellious couple leave their home town because their family cursed their marriage. They go on to found and build a remarkable town, Macondo, filled with free, loving, generous people, so kind and thoughtful of each other that they don't even need a church, religion or governing authority to treat each other well and flourish.

Decades of growth, marriages, children and grandchildren later, shit gets weird - very weird. The Colombian Federal government sends in a despot governor, an unneeded church gets built, and people start going insane. Incestuous children are born, and the tension between the gentle townsfolk and the intruding ruling federales gets reduced to a two overly-simplistic, warring factions, the federales (Conservative Party) and the townsfolk (Liberal Party.)

Except, the townsfolk never thought of themselves as members of the Liberal party or any other party. They were just quietly living simple lives in the town they built. The series unfortunately descends into graphic conflict, war and bloodshed from that point on.

I suppose both the original author of the revered book - Gabriel Garcia Marquez - and the series writers concluded there wouldn't be much of a gripping story to watch without some violent arc and everybody starting to act very stupid. For me, it's made the series almost impossible to stick with, because, in spite of the incredible cast and scenery, I keep finding myself saying, "Why is everyone in this near-perfect town turning into such idiots? Why are they ruining such a perfect setting?"

I guess it's supposed to demonstrate that 'nothing good lasts forever' or 'human minds just can't sustain peace, they have to go looking for trouble,' or some such crap like that.

Your thoughts?

 

[marinw]

I loved it! I assume that there will be a second season? It ended at a weird place. I read the book...a hundred years ago LOL.

I don't see why they had to tie the poor guy to a tree for years! Doesn't seem like the best way of treating his mental illness.

The difference between Macando from the first to second episode was jarring. At that rate of change, I was expecting a warp drive by episode four. 

[Haleth]

I had tried to read the book but wasn’t enjoying it so I DNF.  Did the series follow the book pretty well?  I agree it lost something when the focus fell to the warring political factions. Until then I was engrossed in the beauty of the cinematography and weirdly charming story. Loved poor Ursula trying to manage her strange little family, like herding cats. 

[marinw]

1 hour ago, Haleth said:

I had tried to read the book but wasn’t enjoying it so I DNF.  Did the series follow the book pretty well?

To be honest, I read the book so long ago I don't remember. I agree that the show lost focus during the last few episodes. I enjoyed the magic realism aspect more than the political stuff.

At first I wondered about the logistics of getting all the things up the mountain, but a few episodes in I stopped thinking about it.