Guantanamera

The movie seems ambitious in its elements - a satire of bureaucratic Cuba (via the red tape associated with cross-country funeral delivery arrangements), frequent broad comedy (mainly in the truck driver's entanglements with his various women), much romantic wistfulness as the old man deals with a life largely wasted through lack of courage and Gina realizes the aridity of her marriage to Alonzo, within which her own creativity is stifled; the economic and cultural diversity of Cuba sketched in bits and pieces along the way. As executed, the overall framework for all of this - that of a loosely structured road movie - sets the tone more fully than might have been advisable: the rhythm reflects the leisurely procession along the road and the jauntily resigned renditions of the title song, which makes for good but not very provocative entertainment. The film seems to look back more than forward, with a pervasive sense of quiet nostalgia and regret about it, although there's also a gentle postivism that things can be overcome (with no thanks to the political infrastructure, it subtly suggests).

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.

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.

As pure entertainment, the film does seem scattered and unfocused. However, it packs in many social, political and cultural messages on different levels. For instance, as the characters enter Bayamo, we hear a tour guide telling of Bayamo as historical center for smuggling and how this motivated rebellious action against colonial Spain. I took this as a commentary about present-day Cuba. The film is filled with metaphors, starting, of course, with the plot: a former economics teacher falls in love with a trucker and leaves her crass, heartless, bureaucrat husband. To really enjoy this movie, you have to understand that it is a report on the state of the country, and the characters and plot serve to veil documentary as movie fiction. Knowledge about recent Cuban history certainly helps understanding the movie, though, and you may want to see other films or read about present-day Cuba first.

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.