The Lost City

As an AmeriCuban who remembers her visits to Cuba as a small child, I was very touched to see on screen the Cuba that I knew was not just in my dreams.

What an excellent job in picking places that can make you really think it was filmed in Havana! You can feel as if you are really there! There are those who wonder how Andy Garcia could have portrayed Cuba so realistically when he left the island as a 5 year old child. But it is at those very young tender years that impressions are made that stay throughout ones lives. My early trips to Cuba have remained very vivid in my mind. I understand him so well.

You can feel that he put his all in this movie. Countless Cubans can relate to the story that is told. What a heart-wrenching moment when he leaves Cuba and his only keepsake is taken away from him! How many Cubans must have passed through this same scene?

The music warmed my soul. I would listen to it over and over.

And that last scene! well, I don't want to give it away. You have to see it.

Critics all over have trashed this movie on account on its politics, angry at the way García has depicted Che Guevara as the real murderer he was, at the way he has portrayed the profound injustices and oppression of Fidel Castro's regime, at the way it does not conform to the sympathetic view Hollywood has always had about the Cuban Revolution. The movie suffers sometimes from the inexperienced hand of a first-time director, the lack of the epic budget it needed, and the poor acting of Inés Sastre but it is not a bad movie, not at all. It's an extremely entertaining film that uses its modest resources with great care to give us a dignified, sincere, notably balanced and very emotional document of the terrible experience of the Cuban people. Don't believe the extremely biased reviews of The New York Times, The New Yorker, and other media. Go and see it. Music lovers will enjoy a splendid mix of popular and classical Cuban music, and a great original score which will make a nice CD.

An excellent movie with a small budget. Andy did a wonderful job on his first attempt. I am sure we will see more of him as a producer. Of course there is room for improvement and I think that if he concentrates in the details of the production without having to act at the same time we will probably see this improvement in his next work.

I liked the music specially the showman that portrayed Benny More. Also the choreography was very good and the dancers where spectacular, in particular the fellow that participated as a solo. The guy playing the trumpet at the beginning and end of the movie was superb.

It gives an overall picture of the history from that period in the island nation and without being documentary it respects the motives and shortcomings of any historical process such as this one.

Thanks Andy for this movie, and keep up the good work.

Born in 1962, in the mist of the turmoil, I left Cuba in 1967 thanks to the "Freedom Flights" at the age of 4. It was about time a film like this was done. I commend Andy Garcia and all involved for its historical accuracy. I am grateful for the "Ficos" of the time, like my parents. What courage and resolve. If history is not to be repeated, we must embrace it, learn from it, and not wash it from our memories. Incredible acting, music, scenery (thank you Dominican Republic). We need to remember "where we've been" so as to know "where we're going" - bring plenty of tissues; one box is just not enough. The only reason I gave it a 9, as opposed to a 10, is because I would have really liked to have seen some time dedicated to the family, specifically, the brothers, in their youth. The important relationship of the Cuban family would have been better understood if we had seen it from early on. The significance of the family nucleus, born of the parents' rearing, is crucial in the story of the Cubans. The relationship between the uncle and his nephews was synonymous with that but could have been further developed.

I think that for those who do not know what happened in Cuba during the revolution, this movie is a great film to watch (no matter what the critics believe). Not only do we learn how it happened, we also learn about the struggles of the Cuban people. As in a work of art, everything in this movie has meaning or significance. The story is real and is expressed with sentiment... a romantic, but also nostalgic feeling. Also, the movie captured many details of the Cuban culture (including family values). Finally, I'd like to add that to watch a movie about Cuba without the glamorizing of the revolution or any of its leaders is like a breath of fresh air. Andy Garcia is a genius!