ryanjpoland

I had the pleasure of screening this film at the Sundance Film Festival 2005 and was astounded. It is a truly captivating Documentary that not only follows the production of the monumental propaganda film "Soy Cuba" (I am Cuba) but also documents the dramatic economic changes that Cuba has faced since the 1960's when the film was made. Director Vincente Ferraz cleverly uses a mix of file footage and clips from "Soy Cuba", recent interviews with "Soy Cuba" filmmakers, and contrasting shots of locations from the film both now and then. It was highly entertaining and informative. If you are a Filmmaker, Film Student, or just an avid Film lover you must see this movie!

I had the pleasure of viewing this film at the Sundance Film Festival with Director Steve Buscemi as well as the Director of Photography/Cinematographer, Editor, and Screenwriter in attendance. I really felt that the production aspect of the film was amazing especially being that it was shot entirely in Digital Video using Lower-end Pro-sumer cameras and transferred to film later. The Direction, Acting, and Cinematography were all outstanding making the aesthetic of the film very prominent. However the problem that I found with the film is that it was rather mediocre in terms of content. The film is what I would personally call a dark comedy with hints of romance. 27 Year old Jim (Casey Afleck) a depressed aspiring writer journeys back home to small town, Indiana after utter failure to assimilate and attain success in New York. The film then continues to explore his mundane and despondent existence in relation to his overzealous Mother, disinterested Father, and his similarly depressed Brother. Throw in a bit of impossible romance with a nurse named Anika (Liv Tyler) and the story unfolds. The film did have its comedic moments playing up typical daily occurrences that most people can relate to. Overall it was pretty good but I just felt it was lacking something in terms of screenplay, which may be due to the fact that Writer James C. Strouse is a first-timer in the world of screen writing. There is definitely potential in his later work, but I think this piece needed a little revising. All personal opinions aside I have to commend the filmmakers for the grassroots approach to production and after speaking to the crew members in attendance I was very impressed with their professionalism and their openness to express their ideas and offer other filmmakers helpful advice and encouragement.