In Colombia just after the Great War, an old man falls from a ladder; dying, he professes great love for his wife. After the funeral, a man calls on the widow - she dismisses him angrily. Flash back more than 50 years to the day Florentino Ariza, a telegraph boy, falls in love with Fermina Daza, the daughter of a mule trader.
Javier Bardem
as Florentino Ariza
Unax Ugalde
as junger Florentino
Benjamin Bratt
as Juvenal Urbino
Catalina Sandino Moreno
as Hildebranda Sanchez
Hector Elizondo
as Don Leo
Liev Schreiber
as Lotario Thurgot
Fernanda Montenegro
as Transito Ariza
Laura Harring
as Sara Noriega
John Leguizamo
as Lorenzo Daza
Ana Claudia Talancón
as Olympia Zuleta
Alicia Borrachero
as Escolastica
Marcela Mar
as America Vicuna