Guantanamera

A small look at life in Cuba, "Guantanamera" portrays a world-famous Cuban singer returning to her hometown and suddenly dying. Her funeral procession reveals several things about the people involved, namely the love-starved existence of a woman sick of her creepy husband.

Obviously, we in the United States only get to hear about Cuba occasionally, so at the very least this movie should provide some insight into the state of affairs there (or just to hear the Cuban dialect, with its dropping of esses). But anything looking at people's individuals lives and how policies have affected them gets praise from me. We see how people have to abide by food rationing, among other things (of course, this is mainly due to the US blockade against the island). So I recommend this film.

Guantanamera is a movie that encompasses the genre of a road movie and love story. Gina's Aunt Yoyita from Havana, who was once a famous performer, is in Guantanamera to receive an award. During the award ceremony, she notices her long lost love from 50 years ago, Candido. The relationship rekindles and the two are in love once again. When Yoyita suddenly dies, her body needs to be transported back to Havana. Gina's husband Adolfo, who is an undertaker for the state, takes charge of everything and arranges Yoyita's long complicated journey home. Adolfo is an arrogant abuser who has no respect for his wife. At one point he visualizes himself on top of a statue, as the leader. Accompanied by a driver, Adolfo, Gina, and Candido make the long complicated journey to Havana transporting Yoyita from vehicle to vehicle implementing Adolfo's new money saving plan. During the journey, Gina encounters one of her prior students, a womanizing trucker named Mariano, who has longed for Gina since she was his teacher. The two find themselves running into each other at different points along the way. Is Adolfo worthy of Gina's love, or does Mariano finally win his long lost teacher? The director makes it a point for the camera to show us the lush tropical background of Cuba, as well as the poor, dirty, poverty stricken areas displaying billboards with political messages indicating corruption. During the journey, Mariano and Ramon are seen picking up hitchhikers delivering them, as well as, the product on the bed of the truck. The roads are unpaved and dirty showing the economic hardship of the region. Favors are done in exchange for monetary reward, evidence of economic corruption. The film techniques used are similar to those used in Hollywood. They include the use of brightly lit scenes, with most being filmed outside, using natural daylight. The cinematography was mostly at eye level with a motion picture camera,showing steady, smooth scenes. The film was slow paced but kept my attention.

Interesting satire on the Cuban bureaucracy. During the special period. Undresses the weakness of communist systems and their inability to provide logical answers within their rigid structure.

It is one of Titon's last works. But you can see the hand of the best Cuban film director. An excellent acting collective bringing together many of the best actors available at that time on the island. It is not the best film of its director but it makes it a adjustable time. The skinny part is that its problems are very local, which means that it is not received abroad as a strawberry and chocola by example. Also that limitation in time and space means that over the years I go losing the luide and the sympathy of its extreno.

Guantanamera is a very laughable movie.The events sometimes seem absurd, however they are real.Guantanamera portrays situations that are common in daily Cuban life.The Director went beyond official parameters and adopted a critical attitude before the difficulties faced by people in actual Cuba.It is like Gutierrez Alea tells us: "let's laugh of our disgrace." Gutierrez Alea earned two things with this movie: the laugh of the audience, and the ire the President of his country in one of his speeches

When his wife's aunt dies, mortician Adolfo uses the opportunity to show his political talent by trying out a new, very „communist` way of transporting the body. On the way, lots of different things happen to him, the dead body, his wife and the aunt's mourning admirer, and Adolfo is close to getting mad because he fears he won't be able to realize his time schedule. His character is good for a smile.

The Cuban film „Guantanamera` wants to be everything: comedy, romance and a satire on the communist system in Cuba. It's half-baked but ... nice. And I was surprised about the actors: they did a good job and obviously they enjoyed it.