#cuban cinema

[celluloidrainbow]

FRESA Y CHOCOLATE (1993) dir. Juan Carlos Tabío & Tomás Gutiérrez Alea Diego and David could not be more different: one gay, the other straight, one a fierce communist, the other a fierce individualist, one suspicious, the other accepting. As they discuss politics and personal expression in 1979 Cuba, a genuine friendship develops between the two. (link in title)

[theculturedmarxist]

Movie poster by Yoshikazu Yasuhiko for Ernesto (2017)

The first film in forty years to be co-produced by Cuba and Japan, it recounts the story of Freddy Maymura Hurtado who was a Bolivian man of Japanese descent. He joined the freedom fighters lead by Che Guevara in 1966 and was martyred at the age of twenty five. Aiming to rid his world of injustice and the gap between the rich and powerful and the rest of us the inspiring film reminds the viewer of the need for living with a purpose. Ernesto means 'serious,' but was also Che Guevara's first name.

[a-pint-of-j-and-b]

I Am Cuba (Soy Cuba/Я - Куба) | Mikhail Kalatozov | 1964 | USSR

[filmaticbby]

Before Night Falls (2000) dir. Julian Schnabel

[ourlittlesister2015]

Una Isla para Miguel (1968), dir. Sara Gómez

"These vagrants, these second-class citizens, find their way back to the nation thanks to their decisive, militant action." Franz Fanon, The Wretched of the Earth, translated by Richard Philcox

"They were rebels without a cause, our goal as militants was to give them a cause." Mario Monzón, translated by me

[angfdzfilm]

The Last Supper, Tomas Gutierrez Alea, 1976

I think if I were to choose any movie about slavery to show in schools it might be this one, particularly because it shows a non USA centric version of slavery, particularly because it shows how the ideology of slavery was directly connected to the ideology of religion.

This movie was hard to watch, but very very worth it if you want a sort of historical summing up of the perspectives that not only made slavery possible, but made it flourish. It just fed people's egos in the right way, while also making them feel pious at the same time.

[bruisefender]

Tumblr needs more Eduardo Muñoz Bachs

[roskirambles]

Honorable mention 2: Juan of the Dead (Juan de los Muertos, 2011)

A slacker in his forties, Juan barely makes bank for the month by scavenging from the sea with his friend Lazaro, and is estranged from his daughter. Then one day, a “political dissident” outbreak hits Cuba and instead of dealing with it, the government just bury their heads in the sand and blame American interventionism. So Juan sees an opportunity, gathers the misfits around him and opens a business with a simple motto: “we kill your loved ones for you”. What could possibly go wrong?

Needless to say, from the name of the film to the very flawed protagonist this takes a page from *Shaun of the Dead*. Yet, the direction it takes and the flavors around it are VERY different if comparably hilarious. When this movie goes for the ridicule, it aims for the moon with some pitch black comedy and gags that relish in irreverent absurdity with the occasional tints of raunchiness and sociopathy.

This also extends to it’s satire: being a Cuban film, it doesn't hesitate to joke about things like poverty, resilience, the lack of public safety or the moral incongruities that come in the day to day life of Havana as well as the thinly veiled desire many people have to just bail the hell out of the country. Not stopping there, it also offers some of their perspective on American intervention, like how it’s scapegoated by local authorities to cover up their own ineptitude, abuses and failures.

That said, it's not perfect with rather uneven pacing. Its warts also include a “funny” pervert character that honestly feels more like a gross creep in Lázaro, and a LGBTQ+ character that may not gel well for some (though it has to be said queer culture is quite different in the region, so there may be applicability). The production values aren't exactly top notch either, but that's a nitpick for a film this wacky.

It's not a masterpiece, but its unorthodox approach zombie action is nevertheless refreshing.

[ogaminna]

De Cierta Manera (1977, Sara Gómez)

[kitty-leche]

La Bella del Alhambra (1989) dir. Enrique Pineda Barnet.

[bishopsbox]

What a wonderful movie...

Jorge Perugorría and Vladimir Cruz in Fresa y chocolate / Strawberry and Chocolate (1993) dir. Tomás Gutiérrez Alea and Juan Carlos Tabío

[notesonfilm1]

Thinking Aloud About Film: De Cierta Manera/ One Way or Another (Sara Gomez, Cuba, 1974)

Thinking Aloud About Film talks Sara Gomez’ debut feature, DE CIERTA MANERA/ ONE WAY OR ANOTHER, a model of Marxist dialectical filmmaking, mixing fiction and documentary; a dramatic auto-critique of class and race that puts gender at the centre: an extraordinary film, currently on MUBI.   The podcast may be listened to here: The podcast can also be listened to…

[frostedmagnolias]

Chelo Alonso posing on the balcony of her Paris apartment in 1958

[thisgeisha]

“LISTA” the alternate dance video with some-never-before seen footage OUT NOW! 💃🏻🕺🏻

Artist: Me! 👋🏼 (Nikki Lorenzo)

Directed by Bianca Poletti

Choreography by Matilda Sakamoto

Edited by Nina Sacharow

[bruisefender]

[matyas-ss]

Soy Cuba (1962)

Directed by: Mikhail Kalatozov

Cinematography by: Sergey Urusevsky