I have read here that this film depicts the poverty in which most urban Cubans live. The comment has been made that the walls are in bad repair. This may be true - but it is not universal in Havana. It is also true that part of the problem in Cuba is the blockade of building materials that come from the US, and the continual American pressure against Cuba that results in shortage of consumer goods. But the crumbling walls are only part of the story. The other part, the real part, is the deep culture of the art, music, and literature that is so much a part of the rich life of the Habañeros. Their lives are filled with music and dance. The opening scenes show a statue of John Lennon in a public park, in the rain, with a continual 24 hour vigil before him. They revere Lennon as a seminal figure of 1960s culture. Lennon was a voice for peace and sanity in the midst of political assassination and US aggression in Asia and South America. The film returns to this scene, many times: in the rain, at night, at 5 AM. It is very moving.
But the film is not a polemic against the United States. The film simply and movingly presents the everyday life of different kinds of people: a man raising a special needs kids, a couple living on the dole who sell peanuts in the park to make ends meet, a hospital worker by day who is a female impersonator by night. He and his wife dance the night away, along with other Cubans. This film makes me want to spend some time in Havana.
It also makes me grateful to Cuba for resisting the pressure to become another impoverished client state of the US. Cuba now is the elder statesman in Central and South America, as more and more regimes drift towards socialism and resist the devastation brought about by the unregulated free market. People in Cuba are like people everywhere. They are not monsters or evil. Nor is the Castro regime evil. It is only evil in the voice of American propaganda. This film makes us realize our common humanity and that there is no such thing as a *perfect* government.
But if there is such a thing as a perfect documentary, this may be it. You fall in love with the people in this film and realize our common humanity. There is no "message.' Just a glimpse of people we want to learn more about. This film makes us see just how wrong the US ban on travel to Cuba really is and how much we would gain from being able to visit a socialist society that works.
But the film is not a polemic against the United States. The film simply and movingly presents the everyday life of different kinds of people: a man raising a special needs kids, a couple living on the dole who sell peanuts in the park to make ends meet, a hospital worker by day who is a female impersonator by night. He and his wife dance the night away, along with other Cubans. This film makes me want to spend some time in Havana.
It also makes me grateful to Cuba for resisting the pressure to become another impoverished client state of the US. Cuba now is the elder statesman in Central and South America, as more and more regimes drift towards socialism and resist the devastation brought about by the unregulated free market. People in Cuba are like people everywhere. They are not monsters or evil. Nor is the Castro regime evil. It is only evil in the voice of American propaganda. This film makes us realize our common humanity and that there is no such thing as a *perfect* government.
But if there is such a thing as a perfect documentary, this may be it. You fall in love with the people in this film and realize our common humanity. There is no "message.' Just a glimpse of people we want to learn more about. This film makes us see just how wrong the US ban on travel to Cuba really is and how much we would gain from being able to visit a socialist society that works.