Day of the Flowers

Day of the Flowers is a an enjoyable picture despite having a strictly formula script. The first formula is two opposite personalities thrown together by necessity (e.g. 48 Hours, In Her Shoes, etc). Here we have two Scottish sisters, Rosa a committed socialist and Ailie her designer cloths wearing spoiled sister, reunited for funeral of their father. Problem is that their stepmother wants to make a golf trophy out of their father's ashes while Rosa wants to take them to Cuba, where their father spent some time during the revolution and scatter them in Havana. Once the sisters take the ashes to Cuba we enter the Fish-Out-Of-Water phase of the formula with every cliché ridden situation thrown in. However, the performances are generally appealing and the direction is brisk. Throw in the nice Havana background and Cuban music and you have an entertaining film which does not strive to be anything higher than that.

I saw it at the Edinburgh Film festival and love it. Two quarrelling sisters become reluctant travel partners when they set off from Scotland to Cuba. Their journey throws up more than a few surprises and laughs along the way. Their quest to discover more about their father's communist past leads to a voyage of self discovery. The humour is balanced with an intelligent portrayal of how each sister struggles, in different ways, with the cultural stereotypes and socio- political tensions that arise. The writer, Eirenie Houston, offers a balanced assessment of the complexities associated with tourism in Cuba, avoiding sentimentality or judgement. Set in the ambiance of Havana, with stunning cinematography and beautiful dance scenes, not least from the Cuban ballet dancer Carlos Acosta, this film will have you heading down to the travel agents.

I had a great night last night.  Braving trains, taxis and troublesome tram works MBH and I enjoyed a night at the Edinburgh Film Festival.  The Day of the Flowers is about family and friendship.  It's about love and death, truth and lies, about revolution and evolution.

I'd heard about this film and the politics of getting a film about Cuba made in Cuba.  So I was thrilled to see it.

If there was one thing I would have liked, it would be more Glasgow.  The film starts here with sisters Rosa and Ailie rescuing their dead father from being made into a golf trophy by their stepmother.  It's funny, and sets the Glaswegian perspective through which we are shown Cuba. There are certain factors which make the film work for me.  And it really does.

The flowers

In other reviews, Rosa has been described as "a headstrong idealist".  And that much they've managed to get right.  I like headstrong idealists.  I like seeing them on my cinema screens.  All too often they are a vehicle for people who don't want us to be headstrong idealists to tell us that headstrong idealists are naive.  This doesn't happen in The Day of the Flowers, which is refreshing.  She's beautifully played by Eva Birthistle.  The story of her relationship with her sister, and the discoveries both make about their parents offer a compelling, human story.

The dancing

Carlos Acosta is a star.  That's not an opinion, he just is.  A global dance sensation, this is his first big role in a feature film.  The first of many, by the looks of things.  His Tomas is a modern Cuban, who has toured the world and returned to his homeland to educate young and old.  He takes the girls (especially Rosa who needs it most) under his wing.   His performance has that thing you only know when you see it - an apparent effortlessness which can only be achieved through talent and professionalism.  I know and love a lot of the music which underpins the film and carries with it the seductive sunshine so beautifully captured.  Which brings us to - 

The island

Cuba is beautiful.  Cuba in The Day of the Flowers is a gift to anyone who loves photography and the moving image.  Sunshine seems to flood the sky. We are shown the difference between the big corporate hotels and the Cuba that Cubans live in.  Visually stunning, the island also has a rich culture and a history of political independence which really matters.  This isn't a film about politics, but the fact that things are different in Cuba is plain to see, as well as the benefits and costs of that difference.  I know I said I wanted more Glasgow, but 80-90 per cent of this film is in Cuba.  And I wanted a lot more Cuba.

In the end, film is a way of telling a story.  And stories are about people.  And what this film is about is that moment when you're not entirely sure of yourself or your situation, and you're not entirely sure if you should or you shouldn't, but you ask someone if they'd like to dance with you.  And they do.  And because you did, you never have to wish you had or regret you hadn't.

If you haven't, and you can, see this film.  You won't regret it.

I didn't know what to expect: I suppose another pro-Cuban story with the achievements of Carlos Acosta propping up a sameness of this genre. How wrong could I have been? This was a great wee film that soon got me caught up in its pathos - straight into the plot with great and sensitive humour. The story was totally believable and the sisters - excellently played by the actors - were ably supported by Acosta, Simpson and the cast. No goody-goody Cubans sacrificing all for the revolution but a look a the dark side as well. As in every good movie, plot and sub plot rotate and change and co-relate.

This film, for me, had all of this and laughs all the way. All in all, a thoroughly enjoyable film - from its left wing origins through to the realities of life in today's Cuba... warts and all. Well done to Houston, Roberts & co for a fine wee film.

I just loved this film. I was intrigued to see Carlos Acosta in an acting role as I had recently seen him as a Royal Opera House Covent Garden principal dancer. I wasn't let down as he was such a natural with a wonderfully understated presence on screen. And when he did dance I wanted to see more. It was a joy to watch! What made the film even better was the script from beginning to end. I believed in the sisters. They were real to me. The setting in Glasgow so familiar in contrast to the action in Cuba. What poverty can reduce people to. A place made attractive by its music and sunshine. This is a gem of a film. I want to watch it again.