DVD Review: 50 Years of the Cuban Revolution box set
This collection of four highly accomplished Cuban films gives a fascinating insight into the country and how it views its own history.
The earliest film, I am Cuba (Soy Cuba, 1964) deals with the Revolution most directly. Russian director Mikhail Kalatozov’s lyrical propaganda piece tells the story of four Cubans and how they suffered before the glorious events of 1959. Rich American businessmen have their wicked ways with a good Catholic girl, a farmer has his land taken by an evil American fruit company, another farmer has his house bombed, and a student revolutionary fights on the streets for what he believes in. This is avant garde allegory with some great cinematography and harrowing scenes mixed in with cheap melodrama.
Lucia (1968) looks at the lives of three women living in different periods of Cuban history, each called Lucia and each having a rather tragic time of it. The first Lucia lives in 1895 during the Cuban War of Independence. She falls for a handsome stranger, and the subsequent love story is like a mini Gone with the Wind. The second Lucia (played by the stunning and adorable Eslinda Núñez) marries an idealistic revolutionary in 1933, but the march of history is not in their favour. The third Lucia lives in the 1960s, after the Revolution, but still cannot find happiness. The three stories form an engrossing trawl through history which paints a picture of an island that has suffered much.
Perhaps the strangest of the four films is Memories of Underdevelopment (Memorias del subdesarrollo, 1968), which could more accurately be titled Memories of the Women I’ve Slept With. Directed by Tomás Gutiérrez Alea, it follows Sergio (Sergio Corrieri, a Cuban Sean Connery), a middle-aged member of the ex-bourgeoisie who finds himself alone after his wife and family leave for America. He wanders around, remembering his past loves and picking up new ones, and cynically analysing the Revolution and society. Blending documentary footage and narrative, this is a film which asks more questions than it answers.
The fourth film the best-known example of Cuban cinema, is the recent Strawberries and Chocolate (Fresa y chocolate, 1994) directed by Gutiérrez Alea. The film follows idealistic student David as he gets to know Diego, a gay man obsessed by art and poetry. Their complicated relationship is made even more so by the political context of Cuba at the time. The depth, intelligence and wit of the script, as well as the charismatic performance by Jorge Perugorría as Diego, make this a character study that will stay with you.
Although these films were all funded and produced by the Cuban government, there is much here that questions the status quo. Creativity has been preserved, and much praise must be given to the filmmakers, who have produced an amazing body of work despite difficult economic and political circumstances.
