One of the great success stories of the Revolution is the Cuban film industry. Films shot on location, with hand-held cameras featuring ordinary people engaged in a revolutionary process, are the trademarks of classic Cuban cinema. In the 1960s films were national, nonconformist and cheap. In the 1970s, films tended to focus on women’s issues, historical and/or multiracial themes, while in the 1980s the increasing influence of the Hollywood format brought sentimental melodrama and romance, but was critical of Cuban social reality. The most successful film ever made was Fresa y Chocolate (Strawberry and Chocolate) in 1993 by leading director Tomás Gutiérrez Alea. The film that has made the greatest impact in recent years is without doubt Wim Wender’s Buena Vista Social Club (1998), a nostalgic musical documentary of the band whose original members are now in their eighties and nineties. Two recent films to look out for are Miel para Oshún (2001, Honey for the Goddess Oshun), by veteran filmmaker Humberto Solás – a story of a Cuban, Roberto, who was taken to the USA as a child after the Revolution and returns 30 years later to find his mother, and Juan Carlos Tabío’s comedy, Lista de Espera (2001, Waiting List). The action takes place in a remote, dilapidated bus station. All the buses pass full, so the passengers try to repair an old Soviet wreck in a collective effort to repair the broken dream. The most controversial film recently about Cuba is Julian Schabel’s Before Night Falls (2001), loosely based on the autobiography of gay Cuban writer Reinaldo Arenas’ Antes que anochezca. The Festival Internacional del Nuevo Cine Latinoamericano (festival@icaic.inf.cu) is a major event in all cinemas that should not be missed. Comprehensive weekly listings of all films from Thursday-Wednesday are posted in cinema windows. Most screenings are at 2000, but the larger cinemas have a showing at around 1700. Observe queuing procedures to buy tickets, mostly 2 pesos or US$2. No drinks or snacks are sold in cinemas but you can take food and drink in with you. Charles Chaplin, 23 entre 10 y 12, Vedado, T 8311101. This is one of the largest art cinemas in Latin America, with modern equipment and film seasons celebrating particular directors, countries or themes. Arty films at 1700 and 2000 with a good shop for memorabilia. La Rampa, Rampa esquina O, Vedado, T 8786146. Shows modern US films and art films from 1630. Nine hundred comfortable seats, but dodgy toilets. There is a nice lobby area with Cuban film posters up the sweeping ramp. Payret, Prado 503 esquina San José, La Habana Vieja, T 8633163. Films shown continuously from 1230 in this very large, popular cinema with fairly comfortable seats. The cinema is quite run down but is a major venue for the film festival. Riviera, 23 entre Presidentes y H, Vedado, T 8309564. The equipment here is unreliable and the a/c often breaks down. US action films are shown. There is a 24-hour snack bar outside.
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Havana - £7.99
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