Adieu Cuba

Born in 1962, in the mist of the turmoil, I left Cuba in 1967 thanks to the "Freedom Flights" at the age of 4. It was about time a film like this was done. I commend Andy Garcia and all involved for its historical accuracy. I am grateful for the "Ficos" of the time, like my parents. What courage and resolve. If history is not to be repeated, we must embrace it, learn from it, and not wash it from our memories. Incredible acting, music, scenery (thank you Dominican Republic). We need to remember "where we've been" so as to know "where we're going" - bring plenty of tissues; one box is just not enough. The only reason I gave it a 9, as opposed to a 10, is because I would have really liked to have seen some time dedicated to the family, specifically, the brothers, in their youth. The important relationship of the Cuban family would have been better understood if we had seen it from early on. The significance of the family nucleus, born of the parents' rearing, is crucial in the story of the Cubans. The relationship between the uncle and his nephews was synonymous with that but could have been further developed.

One day someone is going to make a decent film about the Cuban revolution, but in the meantime we will have to put up with half-baked efforts like this and Havana.

There is no doubting the earnestness of actor-director Andy Garcia's convictions but what we basically have here is an overlong and rather dull vanity project. Garcia plays Fico, an affluent nightclub owner who finds his family and life slowly disintegrating in the midst of the events leading up to - and consequences of - Fidel Castro's Cuban revolution. Long, deliberately-paced films are usually that way to establish a number of characters in depth and to lure the viewer into investing their sympathy and concern for these characters. But this film seems to take forever to tell us very little about Garcia's Fico or any other members of his family. Garcia looks perpetually miserable and seems to be trying to imitate Al Pacino in the Godfather movies, while the film itself seems to be trying to establish an epic sweep that it completely fails to achieve.

The film looks and sounds terrific, but Garcia isn't a great, or even particularly accomplished director. And what exactly is the purpose of Bill Murray's character? He's supposed to be a writer with an infectious sense of humour but he rarely says anything funny despite the reactions of other characters, and his presence adds nothing to the plot. Similarly, Dustin Hoffman pops in for a couple of meaningless scenes as Meyer Lansky which wouldn't be missed if they were removed.

As an American of Cuban parents, I had always heard the political rhetoric about Cuba as I was growing up. All the while I longed to see this beautiful island which my parents sadly left behind. Though Andy Carcia's film was not filmed in Cuba (it was filmed in the Dominican Republic) it gave me a chance to see a "Cuba" I had only heard about. As for the film itself, the conflicts of family, politics and love in the film is beautifully portrayed to reflect what has been a painful truth to a great number of Cubans. I definitely recommend this to all, Cubans and non-Cubans alike. I hope Mr. Garcia gets due recognition for this beautiful body of work. By the way... Is there an accompanying soundtrack album? The music was phenomenal!

Critics all over have trashed this movie on account on its politics, angry at the way García has depicted Che Guevara as the real murderer he was, at the way he has portrayed the profound injustices and oppression of Fidel Castro's regime, at the way it does not conform to the sympathetic view Hollywood has always had about the Cuban Revolution. The movie suffers sometimes from the inexperienced hand of a first-time director, the lack of the epic budget it needed, and the poor acting of Inés Sastre but it is not a bad movie, not at all. It's an extremely entertaining film that uses its modest resources with great care to give us a dignified, sincere, notably balanced and very emotional document of the terrible experience of the Cuban people. Don't believe the extremely biased reviews of The New York Times, The New Yorker, and other media. Go and see it. Music lovers will enjoy a splendid mix of popular and classical Cuban music, and a great original score which will make a nice CD.

I think that for those who do not know what happened in Cuba during the revolution, this movie is a great film to watch (no matter what the critics believe). Not only do we learn how it happened, we also learn about the struggles of the Cuban people. As in a work of art, everything in this movie has meaning or significance. The story is real and is expressed with sentiment... a romantic, but also nostalgic feeling. Also, the movie captured many details of the Cuban culture (including family values). Finally, I'd like to add that to watch a movie about Cuba without the glamorizing of the revolution or any of its leaders is like a breath of fresh air. Andy Garcia is a genius!