The Best Movies From/About Cuba
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- DirectorTomás Gutiérrez AleaStarsEnrique SantistebanReynaldo MiravallesRené SánchezWhen her country is taken over by socialist revolutionaries, a wealthy woman can't bear to give up all of her wealth and possessions to the new government, so she hides her jewels in one of the 12 chairs of a dining-room set. After her death, her nephew finds out what she had done and, since the chairs had been "nationalized" and are now in the possession of a dozen different people, he sets out to track them down and get the jewels he believes rightfully belong to him.
- DirectorTomás Gutiérrez AleaStarsSalvador WoodSilvia PlanasManuel EstanilloA young man attempts to fight the system in an entertaining account of bureaucracy amok and the tyranny of red tape.
- DirectorTomás Gutiérrez AleaStarsNelson VillagraSilvano ReyLuis Alberto GarcíaA pious plantation owner attempts to teach Christianity to 12 of his slaves by inviting them to participate in a reenactment of the Last Supper.
- DirectorPastor VegaStarsIdalia AnreusMiguel BenavidesSamuel ClaxtonTeresa is overwhelmed: with a husband, three young sons, a job as a crew leader in a textile factory, and volunteer commitments as cultural leader of her union. Her husband, Ramón, wants more of her attention; her feelings are mixed, wanting domestic peace, feeling responsibilities to the revolution, and wanting to control her own life beyond doing dirty dishes. They separate; he begins an affair. When he wants a reconciliation, she asks what his response would be if she'd had an affair too. "But men are different," is his reply. He's failed her test, and to hold on to independence and self-respect, she remains uncompromising and hard-edged.
- DirectorJuan PadrónStarsFrank GonzálezManuel MarínIrela BravoA vampire family from Cuba is preparing for a showdown between the USA vampires and the Eastern European vampires. But with the aid of a scientist, they need a type of vaccination where they can live in daylight.
- DirectorTomás Gutiérrez AleaStarsÓscar ÁlvarezMirta IbarraOmar ValdésA theater director and script-writer falls for a female worker from the Havana docks, but his machismo, social and working conflicts, and the Cuban woman's condition interfere with their relationship.
- DirectorFernando PérezStarsLuis Alberto GarcíaIsabel SantosRené LosadaBefore the military coup in Cuba, a group of people have a clandestine printing press, used to print subversive pamphlets against the government.
- DirectorTomás Gutiérrez AleaJuan Carlos TabíoStarsJorge PerugorríaVladimir CruzMirta IbarraStory of two men who are opposites: one gay, the other straight; one a fierce communist, the other a fierce individualist; one suspicious, the other accepting; and how they come to love each other.
- DirectorTomás Gutiérrez AleaJuan Carlos TabíoStarsCarlos CruzMirta IbarraJorge PerugorríaIt is a satire about life in Cuba. The members of a funeral procession and some truck drivers who need to take the same route begin to talk about God and the world and they end up discovering that life for both groups has many similarities and many differences, depending on the point of view.
- DirectorFernando PérezStarsLuis Alberto GarcíaCoralia VelozClaudia RojasThree characters in present-day Havana must choose between clinging to their self-restricting beliefs, or getting rid of them to live more freely. Ballerina Mariana has promised God celibacy if she gets the role of "Giselle"; Social-worker Julia always faints after hearing a certain word; and pot-smoking percussionist Elpidio was abandoned by his mother, coincidentally named Cuba, some time ago and has not yet gotten over the loss.
- DirectorJuan Carlos TabíoStarsVladimir CruzTahimi AlvariñoJorge PerugorríaA desperate group of people wait at a rundown Cuban transit station for the next bus to arrive. The problem is, it never shows up. While a number of busses pass by the station, and others that are either full or at the end of the line stop by, it soon becomes obvious that the bus everyone was waiting for has left them high and dry. While one of the would-be passengers, Emilio, uses his downtime to win the affections of the beautiful Jacqueline, most of the rest decide that if they're stuck without anywhere to go, they might as well make the station a better place to wait, and they begin forming a plan to turn the decrepit bus terminal into a showplace that people would look forward to visiting.
- DirectorFernando PérezStarsFrancisquito CardetFrancisco CardetNorma PérezDawn breaks in La Habana, and as the day advances we follow the simple lives of ten ordinary Cubans, with only sounds and images accompanied by music.
- DirectorBenito ZambranoStarsAlberto YoelRoberto San MartínYailene SierraTwo Cuban friends play in a blues band in La Habana. When a Spanish music producer offers them a contract to record an album and build a career in Europe, they must decide whether to stay in their birthplace with their loved ones or to grab the chance of leaving Cuba.
- DirectorTomás Gutiérrez AleaStarsSergio CorrieriDaisy GranadosEslinda NúñezA Cuban man cycles through his opinions and memories as the threat of foreign invasion intensifies and the rest of his family moves to Miami.
- DirectorAlexis ValdésStarsMaría Isabel Díaz LagoCarmen MachiJosé AliasMr. Arturo, an old rich Spanishman who arrives to Havana to marry Yoli, dies suddenly in bed. Yoli's family, afraid of losing all the money, convinces her ex-boyfriend Papito to go to Spain and get the money. Papito will have to be clever enough to deceive everybody and succeed in Spain.
- DirectorGerardo ChijonaStarsThais ValdésVladimir CruzDaisy GranadosLike her mother before her, beautiful Sissy wants to be a dancer at the Tropicana, Havana's famous cabaret. But her truck driving father, Candido, forbids her to do so because of his ongoing grudge against Armando, his former rival and choreographer at the nightclub. When Candido and his friend Promedio accidentally run Sergito over, Promedio sees the star-shaped mole on the boy's buttock, identical to Candido's. Much to Sissy's delight and to Promedio's dismay for fear of incest, Candido takes the boy home, unaware that Sergito is his son and therefore Sissy's brother. Promedio's worries are confirmed when the two youngsters fall madly in love.
- DirectorLeon IchasoStarsRené LavanMayte VilánMiguel GutiérrezGustavo is a young Havana Communist who believes in the revolution; he hopes for a scholarship to study aeronautical engineering in Prague. But his faith in the new Cuba is tested: his father, a psychiatrist, can make four times as much playing piano at a hotel for foreigners; his sweetheart, Yolanda, wants a career as a dancer and longs for the riches of Miami; his younger brother Bobby simply wants to play rock music, and as a result is in constant trouble with the authorities. When Bobby takes a shocking step of revolt and Gustavo is refused service at a foreigners-only bar, the contradictions in his resolve to become a "new man" push him to the breaking point.
- DirectorHumberto SolásStarsDaisy GranadosImanol AriasMiguel BenavidesCecilia, a Cuban girl of mixed race in violent 19th-century Cuba, is raised by her mother and grandmother as a courtesan. Soon, pale-skinned Cecilia catches the eye of the estate owner's son, Leonardo. Cecilia bows to Leonardo's demands provided he agrees to shelter a wounded member of the resistance movement at his home. Leonardo's wealthy father, Cándido de Gamboa, arranges the engagement of his son to a white girl of their own class. Cecilia tries to stop the wedding with tragic results.
- DirectorMikhail KalatozovStarsSergio CorrieriSalvador WoodJosé GallardoFour vignettes about the lives of the Cuban people set during the pre-revolutionary era.
- DirectorAlejandro BruguésStarsAlexis Díaz de VillegasJorge MolinaAndros PerugorríaA group of slackers face an army of zombies. The Cuban government and media claim the living dead are dissidents revolting against the government.
- DirectorJulio García EspinosaStarsJulito MartinezErdwin FernándezAdelaida RaymatThe metamorphoses of Juan Quin Quin, in turns bullfighter, guerrilla fighter and sacristan.
- DirectorDaniel Díaz TorresStarsThais ValdésVanessa CarballidoCarlos CruzA satire about the life of the Cuban people. Alicia, a culture instructor, is sent to a small town "Maravillas", which is itself an exaggerated, but very ingenious reflection of the real Cuba. The adventures that she has there are almost as crazy and senseless as the ones lived by the other Alice (in Wonderland), reflecting the indoctrination, coercion, absolutims, and many other everyday problems in Cuban society.
- DirectorHumberto SolásStarsRaquel RevueltaEslinda NúñezAdela LegráTraces episodes in the lives of three Cuban women, each named Lucía, from three different historical periods: the Cuban war of independence (with Spain), the 1930s, and the 1960s.
- DirectorAlejandro BruguésStarsCaleb CasasHeidi GarcíaOsvaldo DoimeadiósYoung Doctor Ana lives alone because she couldn't bear to leave Cuba when her family sailed away on a raft to the US. Ernesto lives in his car with his belongings in a small case, traveling from embassy to embassy trying to fulfill his dream of leaving Cuba. These Star-crossed lovers long to be together, they are pulled apart by different dreams rooted in different countries. In his directorial debut, Alejandro Brugués offers his personal view on the insistently revisited theme in Cuban art and literature - emigration and the laceration that it implies.
- DirectorJuan Carlos Cremata MalbertiStarsThais ValdésNacho LugoDaisy GranadosIn Havana, a post office branch is more than a place of bureaucratic rules and regulations to ensure effective public services. This is where Carla Perez works. A young dreamer, this government employee transforms boredom into a 'crossroads of feeling in writing'. More than merely sending and receiving letters, she aims to help her companions in finding happiness and love. Such good will can not go un-rewarded. Her exiled parents in Miami entered her name in the yearly U.S. immigration lottery. Unexpectedly, she receives a notice for her interview to get the 'green card'. Now she will have to opt between a future of her own in Cuba, and a future planned by others in Miami.
- DirectorGerardo ChijonaStarsLuis Alberto GarcíaSancho GraciaSusana PérezSix Cuban intellectuals begin a game of musical beds.
- DirectorFernando PérezStarsCarlos Enrique AlmiranteLiety ChavianoAna de Armas"Not everything is what it seems". This is the motto of Fernando Pérez's Madrigal, an esoteric fable built, in the first part, around a handsome actor's love story with an overweight and homely girl (does he have eyes for her, or for her swanky apartment?) and, in the second part, recounting the story of a futuristic novel the actor is writing (which turns Havana into some dark orgyesque playground with a film noir tone).
- DirectorHumberto SolásStarsJorge PerugorríaIsabel SantosMario LimontaOver several years, we follow three households and their emotions in a barrio of Havana. Magalis is a nurse, rarely happy. An older man, Ignacio, professes his love for her; her father and her brother quarrel over her brother's sexual orientation; she thinks about leaving Cuba. Santo's wife Maria is expecting their first child. Tragedy strikes and Santo leaves, drowning sorrows in alcohol and crime while his son grows up in the care of an aunt wondering where dad is. Vivian and Chino are in love, passionate, but childless. The pressures of a society that demands grandchildren strain their relationship. She tries prayer. Fathers embrace their children.
- DirectorManuel Gutiérrez AragónStarsJorge PerugorríaVioleta RodríguezKiti MánverTres hermanas cubanas llegan a madrid en busca de una situación mejor. En Madrid encuentran a una tía que emigró mucho antes y a oytro cubano que intenta seducirlas y...explotarlas.
- DirectorMariano BarrosoStarsEduard FernándezAriadna GilJorge PerugorríaHormigas en la Boca follows Martin from a 10 year stint in a Spanish prison for robbery to pre-Castro Cuba to recover the loot from his ex-girlfriend. While their he runs afoul of Navarro, a dangerously corrupt politician who happens to be married to Julia. Martin tries to recover his money and pursues Julia while trying to avoid Navarro's thugs.
- DirectorLaurent CantetBenicio Del ToroJulio MedemStarsJosh HutchersonVladimir CruzMagali WilsonA lesbian, an aspiring actor, an aspiring singer, a low-class marriage, a neighborhood community and 2 renowned directors have memorable less-than-24-hour-long experiences while living in/visiting the capital of Cuba.
- DirectorGerardo ChijonaStarsMiriel CejasHéctor MedinaBlanca Rosa BlancoEunice is a teenage girl who is running away from her father's sexual harassment. Alejandro is a young rocker who breaks into a drugstore and escapes to Havana with a couple of friends. When they meet on the road, they decide to travel together in search of a paradise. This will mark the rest of their lives. They are homeless, during Cuba's 'special period' of acute shortages, and the local AIDS hospice begins to look like an unlikely refuge...
- DirectorFernando PérezStarsLaura De la UzRaúl PazHerminia SánchezA young girl's academic asperation conflict with her family's struggle against poverty. Both these aspects are made all the more potent by the clear view they have of Ernest Hemingway's mansion in their home town just outside Havana.
- DirectorHumberto SolásStarsCésar ÉvoraRaquel RevueltaDaisy GranadosJavier Argüelles, an opportunistic young man from Cuban middle class, survives all kind of political changes in Havana, from 1932 to 1959, while his brother Darío is persecuted and killed because of his leftist ideas.
- DirectorJorge PerugorríaStarsCucu DiamantesAndrés LevinLiosky ClaveroThe flamboyant Cuban-born / New York based singer CuCu Diamantes on her tour around Cuba. It is an independent Cuban/ U.S. project produced by Sarah Green ("The Tree of Life", "Frida") and Grammy award winner Andres Levin. The film interweaves footage of live music performances with a fictional love story narrative. An energetic display of Cucu Diamantes' glamorous performance style with a fresh Latin pop soundtrack and a comical twist, "Amor Cronico" is a unique portrait of a Cuban artist traveling back to her roots.
- DirectorSergio GiralStarsSamuel ClaxtonMiguel NavarroRoberto BlancoDuring the late 1800s in Cuba, runaway African slaves hide in mountainous settlements after overpowering their Spanish masters. Discord soon follows: traitors are in their midst, secretly working for the Spanish.
- DirectorNelson RodríguezHumberto SolásStarsEslinda NúñezCésar ÉvoraSilvia PlanasIn 1914, during World Ward I, Amada, a bourgeois wife, falls in love with her cousin Marcial, a young idealist who is fighting against the Cuban regime in power.
- DirectorCarlos MarcovichStarsYuliet OrtegaFabiola QuirozJorge QuirozCinematographer Carlos Macovich met Yuliet Ortega, a young "jinetera" (prostitute) from Havana, when he shot a video in Cuba, starring model Fabiola Quiroz. When he realized that the two women had not seen their respective fathers for many years, he made this documentary, which is also a reflection on the process of filmmaking.
- DirectorWim WendersStarsCompay SegundoIbrahim FerrerRubén GonzálezAging Cuban musicians whose talents had been virtually forgotten following Castro's takeover of Cuba, are brought out of retirement by Ry Cooder, who travelled to Havana in order to bring the musicians together, resulting in triumphant performances of extraordinary music, and resurrecting the musicians' careers.
- DirectorMiguel CoyulaStarsAdam PlotchTalia RubelDiane SpodarekFirst of a Trilogy: In a New York ravaged with acid rains, a man in his twenties meets a mysterious, yet familiar young woman who disrupts the banality of his day-to-day existence. Together, they will embark on a surreal journey with a devastating climax.
- DirectorJoyce BuñuelStarsChristianne GoutVincent LecoeurCatherine SamieAt age 24, Rémi Bonnet, brilliant pianist, abandons Chopin and Toulouse to play the music he has secretly loved for years - Salsa! He heads for Paris, the salsa capital of Europe, only to discover to his great surprise, that nobody wants a white boy in Latin band! Felipe, his Cuban friend, sets him straight: " You don't have the Latino look, muchacho! Today, if your are not Cubano or Columbiano, you are out!". Undaunted, Rémi deliberately takes on the identity, accent and complexion of an unemployed alien in a city where most foreigners will do almost anything to become French. Barreto, 75, the legendary Cuban composer, who is about to close down the once famous Casa Cubana, offers Rémi a job giving dance lessons to the locals. It is here that Rémi falls in love with Nathalie. Her family's "secrets and lies" reveal parental links to Barreto. Do these links explain why this shy beauty ought to be a bomb on the dance floor?
- DirectorGuy FerlandStarsDiego LunaRomola GaraiSela WardHigh school senior Katey moves to Havana in November 1958, when her dad gets a promotion at Ford. She meets a local waiter, who introduces her to sensual Cuban music/dance. They enter a big dance contest for the prize when he gets fired.
- DirectorWalter LangStarsAlice FayeCarmen MirandaJohn PayneNan Spencer is on a boat bound for Havana which runs aground. The man sent to rescue her is engaged and she doesn't understand his disinterest. Monte Blanca is interested, to the annoyance of his girlfriend.
- DirectorMichael CristoferStarsAntonio BanderasAngelina JolieThomas JaneA woman, along with her lover, plans to con a rich man by marrying him, earning his trust, and then running away with all his money. Everything goes as planned until she falls in love with him.
- DirectorTono ErrandoJavier MariscalFernando TruebaStarsEman Xor OñaLimara MenesesMario GuerraChico is a young piano player with big dreams. Rita is a beautiful singer with an extraordinary voice. Music and romantic desire unites them, but their journey - in the tradition of the Latin ballad, the bolero - brings heartache and torment.
- DirectorSydney PollackStarsRobert RedfordLena OlinAlan ArkinIn 1950s Cuba, a professional gambler falls for a woman heavily involved in the revolution movement.
- DirectorAndy GarciaStarsAndy GarciaInés SastreBill MurrayA wealthy Havana club owner and his family are torn apart by the violent sociopolitical upheaval brought about by the transition from the dictatorial regime of Batista to the Marxist revolution led by Fidel Castro in 1950s Cuba.
- DirectorVivien Lesnik WeismanStarsPeter KornbluhMax LesnickMiriam LesnikOkay, here's the situation. I was born in Havana. That makes me Cuban. But, I was raised in little Havana, which makes me Cuban-American. However, since I don't see Castro as the root of all evil in the universe, nor would I strangle him with my bare hands given the opportunity, I am a little out of step with my tribe. I always have been. And I really don't care. My dad, on the other hand, does care. He cares a great deal. Back in Havana he was a revolutionary and fought alongside Castro for the freedom of the Cuban people. Then he had a falling out with his old friend and it was Miami, here we come. But his animosity towards Castro did not last and he soon wanted dialogue with the Cuban government. Perhaps, to live in peace. That's when the shit hit the fan. Bombings, death threats and drive by shootings were a daily occurrence in our home. But who would do this to us? We were Americans. Surely, it must be the Communists, right? Wrong. My father became the focal point of the anti-Castro terrorists. These are Americans, people, like you and me. Well, not exactly. They were trained by the CIA. What most Americans don't know is that terrorism in America did not begin on September 11th. In the 1970s and 1980s, there was a reign of terror in Miami. There were as many as seven bombings in one day and hundreds per year. The culprits were not Communists. They were Americans. And my family was at the epicenter. Bombs away. *** With a childhood filled with bombings and assassination attempts on her father, the filmmaker explores her relationship with him and the Cuba he left behind. Through the prism of a daughter we explore the past, the present, and the nature of social responsibility and personal sacrifice. The movie contains highly controversial top-secret audiotapes of a CIA trained Cuban exile Terrorist who is in the middle of a trial and incarcerated by Homeland Security. His trial puts the Bush administration's War on Terror on trial as well. The audiotape excerpts are from an NYT reporter who refuses to turn over these tapes. The never before heard audiotapes will be hotly debated in the media.
- DirectorAndrew LangStarsYosvani BonacheaCristian MartinezSantos UrguellesThe Havana Boxing Academy is a Cuban boarding school that takes 9-year-old boys, and turns them into the best boxers in the world.
- DirectorJulian SchnabelStarsJavier BardemJohnny DeppOlatz López GarmendiaThe life of Cuban poet and novelist, Reinaldo Arenas.
- DirectorJoseph L. MankiewiczStarsMarlon BrandoJean SimmonsFrank SinatraIn New York, a gambler is challenged to take a cold female missionary to Havana, but they fall for each other, and the bet has a hidden motive to finance a crap game.
- DirectorArne GlimcherStarsArmand AssanteAntonio BanderasPablo CalogeroTwo Cuban brothers bring a new music to the 1950s USA. They are as different as the problems that await them.
- DirectorJulie GavrasStarsNina Kervel-BeyJulie DepardieuStefano AccorsiA 9-year-old girl weathers big changes in her household as her parents become radical political activists in 1970-71 Paris.
- DirectorSteven SoderberghStarsJulia OrmondBenicio Del ToroOscar IsaacIn 1956, Ernesto 'Che' Guevara and a band of Castro-led Cuban exiles mobilize an army to topple the regime of dictator Fulgencio Batista.
- DirectorJuan Carlos Cremata MalbertiIraida Malberti CabreraStarsMalú Tarrau BrocheJorge MiloLuisa María Jiménez RodríquezIn a tale akin to Romeo and Juliet, the friendship between two children is threatened by their parents' differences. Malu is from an upper-class family and her single mother does not want her to play with Jorgito, as she thinks his background coarse and commonplace. Jorgito's mother is a poor socialist that is proud of her family's social standing. She places similar restriction on her son. What neither woman recognizes is the immense strength of the bond between Malu and Jorgito. When the children learn that Malu's mother is planning to leave Cuba, they decide to travel to the other side of the island to find Malu's father and persuade him against signing the forms that would allow it.
- DirectorDavid AttwoodStarsVíctor Huggo MartinGael García BernalPatricia VelasquezFidel Castro rises to power in Cuba.
- DirectorSteven SoderberghStarsDemián BichirRodrigo SantoroBenicio Del ToroIn 1967, Ernesto 'Che' Guevara leads a small partisan army to fight an ill-fated revolutionary guerrilla war in Bolivia, South America.
- DirectorHumberto SolásStarsJorge PerugorríaIsabel SantosMario LimontaOver several years, we follow three households and their emotions in a barrio of Havana. Magalis is a nurse, rarely happy. An older man, Ignacio, professes his love for her; her father and her brother quarrel over her brother's sexual orientation; she thinks about leaving Cuba. Santo's wife Maria is expecting their first child. Tragedy strikes and Santo leaves, drowning sorrows in alcohol and crime while his son grows up in the care of an aunt wondering where dad is. Vivian and Chino are in love, passionate, but childless. The pressures of a society that demands grandchildren strain their relationship. She tries prayer. Fathers embrace their children.
- DirectorErnesto DaranasStarsAlina RodríguezYuliet CruzArmando Miguel GómezAging teacher Carmela has a special heart for pupils from broken homes and is challenged by the headmaster to follow up 12 year old Chala which is infatuated in Yeni. They are both poor, and has severe home troubles.
- DirectorEnrique Pineda BarnetStarsBeatriz ValdésOmar ValdésCésar ÉvoraStory shows the genesis of the career and the rise of Esther the most beloved actress of most popular theater in Havana at the turn of the 19th century.