Miel para Oshún

We streamed "Miel para Oshún" on Netflix, and this is just the sort of film that reaffirms the reasons I subscribe: there is no other way I ever would have come across this movie, these actors, or this jewel of a story. Even if you know nothing about Cuba or Cubans, see this movie. This is a real tribute to them, to their sense of humor, inventiveness, and warmth.

Premise: 30-something, Cuban-born Roberto finally travels home from the U.S.A. after the death of his father to find that he has been lied to about his mother. He embarks on a sojourn of the soul, as well as a physical journey that is frustrating in extremis.

A buddy movie, a comedy, a drama, the movie is full of clever dialogue, some of which made me wonder if Castro's censors are lightening up, or just not "getting" it (a painter who stops painting because "some people saw strange allegories in my work" and made things difficult for her). This low-budget film proves that money isn't everything. It's moving, funny, intriguing and just plain entertaining. What else is there?

Like all Cuban movies, this is made for Cubans with the knowledge that internationalists will be watching too; they're not made with the idea of instructing outsiders as to what's happening there. They do share with us, however, some of the daily realities of this remarkable people.

We get a lot of that in "Honey for Oshun" because it's a road movie.

Roberto also takes a road trip through his past, through the reality that his father kept from him. That - along with the trip through parts of a nation that our government forbids us to travel through in person - make for great viewing.

It's a fun movie.

So put aside all the preconceived ideas you might have about Cuba; this is not a propaganda film. Cuban filmmakers know they get their people discussing their problems and outsiders thinking about their stereotypes of Cuba, but they also know how to make entertaining movies.

"Honey for Oshun" is living proof of that.

In 2004,I met Senor Humberto Solas at a film festival in India. After having discussed Latin American cinema at length with him,I got the impression that he is one of the legendary figures not only of Cuban cinema but also of World cinema. He spoke in particular about the enormous problems faced by certain filmmakers from Latin America. So it is in this context that people must watch this excellent film "Miel para Oshun". It is quite true that this film has not been shot using latest expensive gadgets. However there is no valid reason to believe that this could affect anyone's viewing pleasure. This film might be of interest to all regardless of one's language. What I found the most appealing is the manner in which Cuba has been portrayed in a positive light. Although at times, Miel para Oshun might appear maudlin but nevertheless the end result is bound to remain in viewers'mind for a long time to come. Leading player Jorge Perugorria is a joy to watch.

A Cuban American returns to Cuba in search for his long-lost mother. But his bags, alas, do not contain a hearing aid for director Humberto Solas, who's tone deaf for dialogue. Nor a Dictionary of American Slang, so his protagonist can use the right cuss words in English. Otherwise, in Spanish, he sounds as corny as a blurb on a romance novel's cover.

In exchange for a few politically incorrect venial sins, Mr. Solas delivers the neo-official party line, where only Cubans on the island know who they really are (despite "everything"), while Miami Cubans have to marry an American to get any respect. Are you sure? In Miami?!

Before Miel para Oshun, Mr. Solas handn't made a movie in a decade. Who said it was better to let sleeping dogs lie? Well, lie he did.

The first time I watched the film, I wasn't that impressed, but I watched it again and realized that there's a lot more to it. Solas uses melodrama as a vehicle to explore the pain that Cuban exiles feel when they come back to the island, but it's a very restrained form of melodrama and a lot of the changes the main character, Roberto (Jorge Perugorría) undergoes are subtle. It takes time for someone to change a lifetime of thinking and learn to see the past in a different light. The pace may seem slow compared to Hollywood films, but this really isn't a light romantic comedy. It has moments of humor and fun, but essentially it's a serious drama about the search for identity. Perugorría does a great job of portraying the uptight, emotionally crippled Roberto, and it's great to see him loosen up and become more "Cuban" once he gets to the island. Pilar and Antonio are fantastic characters who help him understand more about life in Cuba. He realizes everything he's missed by growing up in the U.S. and not sharing the same fate as Cubans on the island. He gives up his starched shirts and rental cars and ends up riding bikes and hitchhiking like everyone else. He leaves the five star hotel in Havana and sleeps in the huts where country people live. You can literally see him transforming himself into someone else as he moves through the film. This film doesn't show Cuba in overly romantic terms, but it's a pretty realistic and intelligent look at what it means to be Cuban. Roberto isn't as likeable as some of the characters Perugorría has played in other films, but I think that just shows the range of Perugorría's talents. We don't have to love Roberto to sympathize with him.