Habana Blues (2005)

An Exercise In Nonsense

Simple and well acted, it has tension enough to knot the stomach.

It's the kind of movie you'll want to see a second time with someone who hasn't seen it yet, to remember what it was like to watch it for the first time.

Easily the biggest piece of Right wing non sense propaganda I ever saw.

Benito Zambrano's 'Habana Blues' has got all the clichés to make it marketable internationally. The story is very deja-vu and unfortunately, there isn't much to offer. Nothing new in any case. The themes of friendship, partying etc have been done to death. In the first half, the pace just drags on. For a movie that's about music, one would expect at least a few great tracks and here while the instrumental tracks work to an extent, the songs fail because either the lyrics are syrupy or they're too preachy. The execution is quite poor. Cinematography is flat and the background score give it an out-of-date feel. The only sequences that got my attention were the ones with Caridad. This is perhaps majorly due to Yailene Sierra's terrific performance. In addition, I also liked the scenes with Tito's grandmother. Roberto Sanmartin is passable while Alberto Yoel's wooden acting is one of the major factors that contribute to 'Habana Blues's list of flaws. As a whole, 'Habana Blues' just did not work for me.

I found this film to be highly entertaining and interesting. The director weaves a complex and engaging plot and the cast does a phenomenal job. I really enjoyed the music, but that is up to personal taste. Overall, I would highly recommend this movie to anyone.Cuba is like no other place on earth, having been frozen in time to some degree. As the movie was filmed on location, this makes it very visual interesting and the way in which it was shot enhances this even further. There are a number of visually stunning scenes in this film that help to draw the viewer in, and also almost feel the emotion and culture of Cuba. Of course the music aided significantly in this as well.To me this film is really about opposing ideas, and is political without being overtly so. Perhaps to Cubans it would be much more evident, but it may be difficult to see for us living outside. The characters express criticism for the government in Cuba, but also harbor a strong nationalistic pride. They want to make pure art, but struggle with selling out in order to afford themselves better lives. Almost all of the characters want to get out of Cuba, but again struggle with the idea that they may never be let back in. In the end, I feel that the film is about choice. That you can't truly live unless you make decisions for yourself. As the tag line for the film states, "Vivir es Elegir." To live is to choose.

Cool outfits and hairstyles. That's what impressed me the most in this movie. That's not much. And I have tried, really. But there was something missing, things just didn't add up. I did't believe the characters, their motives were not made clear enough, especially the main character, the lead singer. He didn't make much sense, I just couldn't buy it. And, at times, the movie reminded me of a "telenovela". Too much gesturing, too much melodrama, too much "colorful" arguing, followed by hugs and tears. And, frankly, whatever point there was (if there was one) was kinda lost among the chaotic blend of patriotic speeches, family melodrama, cheerful jam sessions and, of course, the traditional video footage of Havana by day and night. Watch out for the actor that played Tito (the sax player), very good acting, not to mention cool and groovy look :-). And the actress that played his grandma rocked more than some of the guys in the band. Ha.

I must say I wasn't really interested in this movie at first, and more or less was dragged to the theater to watch it. Which I am definitely grateful for, since it's one of the best movies I've seen this year by far.The bittersweet story, the uncommon picture of the less known 'real Habana' and the strong friendship between the main characters really got to me.The only annoying thing was the music during the first half of the movie. But the songs played during the second half (the ones the main characters play) are really pretty too.I really liked how the plot wasn't over-dramatic, how everyone, both good and bad ones, is flawed and there's nobody perfect in the story (especially the main character). And how they make the message of the movie (choose your own path and live up to your decisions) reach the audience.The only thing that ruined the movie for me was Marta's character (the Spanish woman). Or rather, the actress playing her role. She's bad to boot.