Netflix’s One Hundred Years of Solitude teaser breakdown: 3 key takeaways

Netflix dropped the first teaser for One Hundred Years of Solitude, the adaptation of the Nobel Prize-winning novel by Gabriel Garcia Marquez on April 17, 2024. The story revolves around seven generations of the Buendia family as they try to evade a curse and undo the acts of destiny.

The story of One Hundred Years of Solitude brings to the fore the essential issue of human solitude and isolation despite the world being engaged in a frenzy of action. Gabriel Garcia Marquez, a Colombian writer, received the Nobel Prize for the novel in 1982.

The novel has been adapted into a 16-episode series by Netflix as a tribute to the author on the 10th anniversary of his death. The teaser presents Aureliano reading the predicted past while there are shorts of Colonel Aureliano and his father José Arcadio Buendia.

---

One Hundred Years of Solitude teaser: 3 important takeaways

The teaser shows an ancient manuscript (Image via Netflix)

The short teaser offers some insight into the upcoming Netflix show based on Gabriel Garcia Marquez's novel as discussed below:

The story is retold as a flashback read from the Melquiades' manuscript

As the teaser of One Hundred Years of Solitude starts, viewers are taken into a room where a man is shown standing next to a table, poring over a book. The fingers of the reader move over the contents of the book. Meanwhile, the voiceover tells of a time when Colonel Aureliano Buendia was facing the firing squad.

The events in the story are presented as a flashback scene in which sixth-generation Aureliano Babilonia reads from the old manuscript of the gypsy, Melquiades, as per the original book. The plot may have the whole story as a recollection of past events juxtaposed with the foretelling of the gypsy.

---

A symbol of life and death presented in a drawing of the ouroboros

The ouroboros seen in the teaser may have many interpretations (Image via Netflix)

One minute into the teaser shows a pair of hands sketching an ouroboros, a snake devouring its tail. While the figure depicts the constant circle of life and death, in One Hundred Years of Solitude it may have a different interpretation.

On the one hand, the story of One Hundred Years of Solitude covers seven generations over a hundred years with births and deaths occurring within the secluded community. On the other hand, the ouroboros in the series may refer to psychiatrist Carl Jung's theory of psychic continuity with the past.

It would make sense here, as the story is illustrated as a retelling of past events. As seen here, Aureliano tries to decode an old manuscript that tells him about his family. This points to his obsession with the immemorial past of his own family. Alternately, it may also be a simple depiction of self-destruction as happened to the Buendia family.

---

Forests and rivers used to outline a secluded and isolated community

Forests and rivers highlight the isolation of the community (Image via Netflix)

As the teaser of One Hundred Years of Solitude shows, various frames have been used to present the seclusion of the community. The hutment is portrayed as surrounded by forests and the characters also move through thick forests. The cluster of huts is also beside the river but hidden by thick foliage.

Additionally, the river is shown to be rocky and deep in places possibly to indicate difficult access. However, in other frames, some specimens of the modern world are presented to highlight the contrast and emphasize the "solitude" of the title.

---

One Hundred Years of Solitude teaser: What else was teased in the video?

The viewers can see the transformation of a child into the adult Colonel Aureliano as he closes his eyes and tears flow out. The scene is the precursor to his being shot to death by the firing squad.

There is also the coming together and fleeing of José Arcadio Buendia and Ursula Iguaran presented through various snippets. They are seen in romantic moments, running through the forests, and the laborious birth of their baby.

The journey of the seven generations of the Buendia family to their decimation and the destruction of the village Macondo established by them will be told in the Netflix series.

Watch out for One Hundred Years of Solitude to arrive on Netflix, the date of arrival is expected to be confirmed soon.