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Guantanamera

1995, Movie, NR, 110 mins

Guantanamera: Review

GUANTANAMERA
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Acclaimed Cuban director Tomas Gutierrez Alea's swan song -- completed by his STRAWBERRY AND CHOCOLATE codirector Juan Carlos Tabio -- is distinctly reminiscent of his earlier DEATH OF A BUREAUCRAT, particularly in its satirical jabs at the failures and foibles of the Cuban Revolution. Disgraced bureaucrat Adolfo (Carlos Cruz) hopes to regain favor with an elaborate but laughably ineffectual scheme to conserve gasoline by setting up an intricate tag-team system for funeral transportation. By fanciful coincidence, his wife Georgina's (Mirtha Ibarra) elderly aunt Yoyita (Conchita Brando) dies suddenly, following a reunion with her long-lost lover (Raul Eguren). The movie takes to the road and a series of coincidental meetings that showcase its most seductive character: Cuba as seen through the eyes of two filmmakers who clearly love their country despite its imperfections. Does the film trivialize weighty issues in contemporary Cuba? Humorless Cuban exiles from Miami will surely think so -- every empty lunch counter will set visions of entrepreneurial opportunities dancing in their heads. But the filmmakers' resigned and comic approach suggests that Castro and his socialist regime will probably collapse under the weight of its own contradictions and absurdities, rather than any officious interference from abroad. While it's all too easy for films like this one to favor sentiment over strident political or aesthetic posturing, it's an entertaining and, yes, informative look at contemporary Cuba. leave a comment --Sandra Contreras
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