Salsa y Amor

"Salsa",directed by Luis Buñuel's daughter-in-law Joyce,is an unpretentious but pretty interesting and pleasant film. It's a story about a young and promising pianist who decides to devote his career to the Cuban salsa as he has fallen in love with this dance.He pretends to be a Cuban guy and organizes salsa lessons.Then he meets the beautiful Nathalie. Indeed,the story is simple but the films succeeds in matching romantic line, dances and comedy.Moreover,the actors are quite good and the songs are really nice.So the film gives you 100 cheerful minutes and the opportunity to learn more about the splendid culture of Latin America.

In the middle of a classical music competition, Remi Bonnet, a brilliant young pianist, switches from Chopin to salsa. The highbrow audience has a fit. People start throwing things. The judges faint. And Remi's piano teacher tells him that his career as a pianist is ruined. Remi kisses the bust of Chopin, asks for forgiveness, and heads for Paris. The stage is set in the first three minutes of `Salsa'.

Remi is dying to be a salsa musician. We will never know how or why Remi became so hooked on latino music. Nor do we really find out how Nathalie, a dour parisian travel agent who he meets in Paris, is transformed into a superb, sexy salsa dancer capable of winning a dance contest on the first try. But we don't really care, because this is a musical comedy looking for every opportunity to show off music and dance. And that's not bad at all.

`Salsa' reminds me of `Round Midnight', Bertrand Tavernier's homage to Dale Turner and the American jazz musicians who came to Paris in the 1950's. There, too, it is the story of a Frenchman who adores 'exotic' music from the other side of the Atlantic. Of course, `Round Midnight' is serious, whereas `Salsa' is a cliche-ridden comedy about one Frenchman's desire to join the fun that Cubans in contemporary Paris are having. Don't take it too seriously; enjoy the music.

"Sala" is an excellent film!!! You must see it. It makes you feel so good. The music is great, the dance is greater! I recommend you to see it!!! All you need is salsa - the emotional, passionate and dynamic dance of Cuba!

When I began to watch it I had a little doubt in my mind since the last supposed salsa movie didn't contain much salsa. But all my doubts was blown away after the three first minutes!! This movie has really captured the essence of what salsa is to me, a burning for the music! The dancing isn't incredible, there is a lot of nice moves, but nothing that really gets you going. But when Remi plays the piano, you just want to be there with him and sing and dance! I have actually started practicing playing salsa on the piano just because of this movie! If you've lost your glow, your inspiration, watch this movie, it may inspire you like it inspired me.

"Salsa (2000)" gives you what it was designed for and what you should expect: Good music, good dancing and good fun.

It is not a pretentious movie at all. The story is simple but not obvious and also contains some interesting moments and twists. The acting is good and the music excellent (Yuri Buenaventura, Sierra Maestra, Ruben Gonzales). The dancing parts are not outstanding but certainly very enjoyable.

It's also a very cheerful and energising movie so it's perfect before going dancing.

Note that this "Salsa (2000)" is much better than "Salsa (1988)", which is boring, predictable and serious ; with some good dance sequences though.

By the way don't miss the delightful "A paradise under the stars" ("Un paraiso bajo las estrellas", CUBA 2000)