Cuba

This drama/love story could have been excellent. Played out against the last months of the corrupt and US/UK-supported Batista regime, the collapse of the old society as Castro's fidelistas begin to take over is shown compellingly. The point is well made that a revolution will only succeed if the people are behind it which, in this instance, they clearly were.

It's a shame that the movie couldn't have been filmed in Cuba, as of course all the famous landmarks of Havana are missing, but its real problems are threefold.

Firstly the storyline is confusing, complicated and unconvincing, with none of the characters being allowed to hold one's attention.

Secondly, the acting is poor. Even Sean Connery - who is normally excellent - seems to have had his mind on other things the whole time.

And thirdly, for some inexplicable reason, the chanting of 'Fidel' as Castro enters Havana in triumph morphs into a Nazi crowd chanting 'Sieg Heil'. Whatever was this trying to say? When Castro actually came into power, one of the first things he did was to open all the 'whites-only' clubs to black people, and to make it clear in an early speech that there was no such thing as a superior race. To liken Castro to Hitler is a travesty of the facts.

So, ultimately a flawed film. Watch it not for the story or the 'message' but for what is going on in the background.

According to the Citadel Film series book on Sean Connery, Sean violated a rule that both he and Charlton Heston normally follow, never take an assignment on an unfinished script. The cameras were rolling on the players before the final script was done and the results clearly show it.

Cuba as a film certainly had potential, but it's not realized in this story. Sean Connery plays a British mercenary who is going to go to work for the tottering Batista regime. He's being hired on the strength of good work he did in Malaya where the British did successfully quell a Communist insurgency in the Fifties.

Connery's got a lot of reservations when he sees the quality of the troops that Batista has. But that's not what's totally occupying his mind. He's found an old flame in Brooke Adams who is married to wealthy Cuban cigar factory owner Chris Sarandon.

As a film Cuba veers back and forth between an action adventure, a political tract, and a romance novel, never really settling in any one category. Best performance in the film is that of Jack Weston who plays the archetypal ugly American.

It's a sad film Cuba, because it had the potential to be a whole lot better.

There are a number of links between this film and the James Bond movies.

As well as the obvious presence of Sean Connery, we have Walter Gotell who played Morzeny in "From Russia with Love" and then played General Anatol Gogol in 5 Bond films as well as the "James Bond Jr" TV series.

In addition, the Spanish city of Cadiz in Andalucia was used for much of the location shooting - a location which also doubled as Cuba in "Die Another Day".

Aside from that, the film creates a wonderfully atmospheric impression of a regime on its last legs, attempting the resist the seemingly inevitable regime change sought by the rebels.

Not a great film but perfectly watchable (even if I did find myself looking out for familiar Andalucian scenery as much as following the plot!).

Although a trivial matter in regards to the plot, the film opens and a date (1959) appears on the screen. Given that Castro entered Havana on New Year's Day, 1959 and Battista had already fled Cuba on December 31, 1958, the events that transpire in the movie could hardly have occurred in 1959.

Although the film is not terrific, what can be said for it is that a lot of effort was put into the creating of the film that was full of diverse action and story; from the film's beginning to the film's end not everything is so clear, and where the film is going is also uncertain.

By following the individual characters around Cuba, and by observing the personal backgrounds & lives of these characters, one gets a decent idea of what Cuba was like at this period of time (from the corruption to the guerrilla war) that is at the same time entertaining. Although at points some of the subplots interfere with the overall film, a decent job was done in this well-acted, well-shot film that combines a lot of themes and a lot of ideas with a diverse story. Overall, worth watching.