Hotel Coppelia

Great film by the young Dominican Director Jose Maria Cabral, with the same raw brutality he depicted in Carpinteros. Through the lens of the 1965 American invasion of the the Dominican Republic, Cabral hits on some classic themes including the brutality and arrogance of a dominant force over a weak nation, the legacy of sexual exploitation within families and society, the misplaced emotional bonds that keep people together. The film could have used more editing as it loses its focus at times and the plot becomes a bit murky. This seems due to Cabral's inability to let go of some of the side stories and characters, which, while interesting, distract from the story's arc.

Some of the characters are a bit cliché, including the general, who was reminiscent of Lieutenant Colonel Kilgore in "Apocalypse Now" (or is the cliché reality?). Nevertheless, as viewers we become invested in the film's characters and care what happens to them.

As a Dominican, I found the presentation of that historical moment, and how it affected these people who were already on the fringes of society, intriguing. Kudos to Cabral for depicting his unique Dominican point of view in film. Give us more!

It is a movie that in its entirety we can consider it as good, however, the performances in many of the scenes lacked to convey the drama and intensity of the story. A very well structured script and direction, with the opportunity to stick even more to the real historical context.

Unexpected treat from Dominican Republic... a historic drama of 1965, a year of civil war and US occupation during which many innocent lives were lost. Of course, nothing is changed and the US government still oppress all the democratically elected governments in the Latin America while trying to bully them into submission. But Dominicans fought and in that fighting there were unexpected heroes from the Hotel Coppelia, which was actually a brothel... real life drama, excellent acting, beautiful nude scenes, sadness and joy included equally in the inspiring screenplay, and directing which was uncompromising... impossible for me not to love it!

And not to bad a histric drama good technical production,good acting,a bit nudity, after all its a brothel under siege. It is a bit tideous on playlength and the war and action lacks for those squemish, but a recommended dominican republic made film from tgom.

The movie was very promising at the beginning and it was very interesting until it touches the subject of the American invasion. From one moment to another the movie suffers a stagnation and we don't know what it is about and it loses everything that had been achieved at the beginning. Good performance by Lumy Lizardo and the guerrilla woman. Nashla's performance was not for her, she still lacks a lot as an actress for roles like the one in the movie.

I give this movie a 5.5 out of 10.