The Revolutionary Cinema Of Cuba

By Rafael Ocasio -- Críticas, 6/1/2007

The triumph of the Cuban Revolution in 1959 and the radical sociopolitical changes that followed brought about state-sponsored cultural institutions in charge of promoting the revolutionary ideology. The Instituto Cubano del Arte e Industria Cinematográficos (Cuban Institute of Art and Cinema, or ICAIC) was one of the first institutions of this kind and the centralized organism that regulated films of the revolution. Revolutionary movements (such as the nationalization of private lands), important figures from the beginning of the Castro-led revolution, and the examination of once marginal members of society became important themes of the revolutionary cinema. Such films became popular on the island and abroad, where they were considered examples of revolutionary ideology.

Cuba’s film industry today has been shaped by drastic economic change. After the collapse of the Soviet Union, economic hardship compromised faith in the official ideology. The need for international financial assistance affected the film industry as well, resulting in coproductions with other countries, particularly Spain. The following films illustrate key moments in the development of Cuban cinema. They also explore the cultural changes that have taken place in Cuba with relation to Spain, particularly the sex tourist industry that links both countries, the experience of Cuban immigrants, and racial issues.

Mikhail Kalatozov’s film, composed of four vignettes, approaches Cuban history from the perspective of a violent oppression that eventually led to popular acceptance of Fidel Castro’s Socialist revolution. The first vignette, which takes place during Fulgencio Batista’s dictatorship in one of Havana’s exuberant and highly exotic nightclubs, emphasizes American tourists’ obsession with black prostitutes. American imperialist practices in Cuba are also the main theme of the second piece. Here, a farm laborer burns down his fields upon hearing that his sugar cane crop has been sold to the United Fruit Company. The third and fourth vignettes address the nation’s historical cycles of oppression and the fight against Batista and his forces. Despite its propagandistic messages and seemingly one-dimensional characters, the film’s black-and-white photography is exceptional and at times poetic. Highly recommended for public and academic libraries.

Set in modern Madrid, this film follows the wave of illegal immigrants in Spain. The film’s protagonists are Ludmila, Rosa, and Nena, three beautiful sisters from Havana who are brought to Spain illegally by their aunt. A successful businesswoman in Madrid, the aunt soon puts them to work in her shop. One striking element is the subplot: a dissident Cuban playwright living in Madrid alters his play to incorporate his views on Spanish stereotypes of Cubans. The play is an actual literary piece, Santa Cecilia, Ceremonia Cubana (“St. Cecilia, a Cuban Ceremony”) by revolutionary playwright and novelist Abilio Estevez, well known for novels critical of revolutionary ideology. Unfortunately, this coproduction falls short of a tangible message (the sisters’ reason for seeking a better life in Spain is boredom), and the strong economic need or political persecution that most Cuban emigrants experience is absent. Recommended for secondary holdings of Cuban or Spanish films.

Cowritten by Spanish director Gerardo Chijona and well-known revolutionary writer Senel Paz, this comical script incorporates the popular literary theme of siblings separated at birth who eventually meet and fall in love, unaware that they are related. In the famous Tropicana nightclub in modern Havana, a jealous husband interrupts a dancer’s sexy performance, knocking unconscious her hunky male dance partner. Years later, the female dancer departs for Spain, leaving behind her irate husband and Sissy, their young daughter. Unbeknownst to her father, Sissy becomes a dancer at the Tropicana and falls in love with a mysterious young man. A series of funny situations suggest a possible kinship. As in the Cuban antislavery literature of the 19th century (a seminal text to which the script often refers), race is another reason for the series of misunderstandings. Not surprisingly, however, no reference is made to the dire economic conditions on the island during the so-called “Special Period.” Recommended for public libraries and bookstores.

Not a sociopolitical commentary, this production focuses on life in Havana and Madrid and offers a glimpse at the basic needs in Cuba and the often-difficult life of the average Spaniard. Don Arturo, an elderly Spaniard, dies suddenly in the home of Yoli, a beautiful mulata living in a marginal neighborhood in Havana whom he has come to marry and take to Spain. Yoli’s mother—a cunning character who embodies the Cuban ingenuity to survive in a declining economy—comes up with a desperate plan. She convinces Yoli’s former boyfriend, Papito, to usurp Don Arturo’s identity, marry her daughter, and go to Spain to claim Don Arturo’s alleged fortune. Wearing a clever disguise, Papito arrives in Spain to discover that Don Arturo was not rich, was already married, and belonged to a Mafia ring that smuggles in women, forcing them to work as prostitutes. Although the film plays up sexual and racial stereotypes and has a conventional ending, the plot is quite funny. Recommended for large collections of Cuban or Latin American cinema.