Honey for Oshun (2001) User Reviews

A "Politically Correct" Return to the Roots

[f. baez · 7/10 · 1 March 2004]

An exiled Cuban goes back to his motherland, 32 years after he was taken to the USA by his father. We witness a return to the roots, as in Alejo Carpentier's classic story. We also witness a road movie, a subtle love story and a mural of Cuban life, in an overall nice little film.

Only the ideological premise on which the film is built is fake. Social criticism of the situation in Cuba is minimum (yet, it is barely at the acceptance level of the bureaucrats who rule the island). If a bike is stolen, it is by a thief who has been in jail; if buildings are half-destroyed, they are being repaired; if a the neighbor is a "jinetera", it's because she wants to leave the country; if the characters are sent wrongly to jail, everything settles finely a few hours later. No hunger (even smiling children with ice creams), no police State who represses santeros, all the houses nicely decorated. We only get one blackout and several transportation problems.

And the key of the film -Roberto's unhappiness because he is at the US where he doesn't belong, in contrast with the "happy" islanders- is impossible to sustain. In the most important scene, in the middle of a town plaza, surrounded by locals, Roberto claims he's unhappy because he's a nowhere man. If that was to happen in the real Cuba, tens of people would tell him: "You can worry about your existential problems because you have three meals a day!", to say the least.

We don't know what happened to Roberto. But I can bet that, if this tormented character decided to stay in Cuba, with his mother, his cousin and his regained roots, he'd regret it loudly.

The direction is feeble at times (is this the same Solás of "Lucía"?), the audio is terrible, but the music is super, some scenes are very good (the Santera, the arrival of the mother) and some of the acting is great (I particularly enjoyed Limonta's portrait of a typical Cuban cab driver)

Discovery voyage

[jotix100 · 7/10 · 18 April 2004]

I missed this film when it was shown as part of a Latin American Film cycle about a couple of years ago. Thanks to the Sundance network, I was able to catch up with it recently. Having seen a couple of Humberto Solas' films, I was curious about this one. It is not one of the director's best efforts but it gives the viewer an idea of what is going on in Cuba, a land so near, but yet so far away!

The returning Roberto goes back to Havana to find a mother he hasn't seen in 32 years. As a young boy, he was taken by his father to the country of the enemy, never to return until now. It is curious how Roberto's mind has not changed in the years he spends away from Cuba. He falls right in step with a culture that must be foreign to him now, yet he is so much aware in his own heart where his loyalties are. In order to find his mother, Roberto goes to the extreme end of the island, literally.

The film presents a hard panorama for the average person that lives in the island. Even though there is a semblance of criticism, it is always presented in a way that serves the regime propaganda machinery. All what happens there is due to the evil American imperialism, but never because of the government failures. How can anyone justify a losing cause that has lasted this long? It is only for more evolved political minds to debate that issue.

What really is surprising is how everything has a price in US dollars. The lesson seems to be that only those that have access to them will survive in the system. It is pitiful that Marta, Pilar's neighbor is forced into prostitution. The only explanation is she wants to leave the country! The way Antonio swindles Roberto by charging inflated prices for his services is also condoned since the Cuban has the upper hand over the naive visitor.

The travelogue part of the film is sometimes pointless. The joke about the Cuban transportation system goes on too long. The only good thing about this part of the movie is that we get to see the interior of the island which not too many get to see.

Jorge Perigurria has done better on other films. Isabel Santos, an actress that has appeared in other Cuban films is much better. At least she is more convincing as the one who, for circumstances beyond her will gets to stay in that country and has to eke out a life out of whatever she can get her hands into. She is the survivor!

Let's hope the director finds a better idea for his next film.

Honey for Oshun

[mckeemc3 · 5/10 · 12 November 2009]

The film Honey for Oshun was fascinating in regards to the adventure through the country of Cuba and the observing of the people of Cuba. In my opinion, the film was very melodramatic and dry at times, but I understand, once viewing the whole film, that it was a film about the character Roberto and his road to self-discovery. It is a very intense film that follows the road trip genre of film, and the scenery of nation is vivid, and emanates my thought of "island". The people of Cuba are genuine and we see them in the countryside knocking down coconuts from palm trees. We see the Cuban people in the small towns in the markets where they are selling fresh fruits. Along the way, Roberto, Pilar, and Antonio experience hiccups as they are searching for Oshun, but Roberto vows they must stick together, which presents a sense of family and togetherness, which Roberto desires so deeply for.

The two characters Pilar and Antontio truly help on Roberto on his journey to find his mother. The scene in the courtyard when Roberto yells and rages about his not knowing whether he is Cuban or American. Roberto transforms throughout the film, and he embraces his ancestral culture as Cuban. I personally enjoyed the scene when Roberto and Carmen reunite, and they both are overflowing with tremendous joy and love, as they are in each other's embrace once again as mother and son. Roberto seems to have reach his discovery of self as Cuban.

a complex and thought provoking film

[cyn_duncan · 23 September 2003]

The first time I watched the film, I wasn't that impressed, but I watched it again and realized that there's a lot more to it. Solas uses melodrama as a vehicle to explore the pain that Cuban exiles feel when they come back to the island, but it's a very restrained form of melodrama and a lot of the changes the main character, Roberto (Jorge Perugorría) undergoes are subtle. It takes time for someone to change a lifetime of thinking and learn to see the past in a different light. The pace may seem slow compared to Hollywood films, but this really isn't a light romantic comedy. It has moments of humor and fun, but essentially it's a serious drama about the search for identity. Perugorría does a great job of portraying the uptight, emotionally crippled Roberto, and it's great to see him loosen up and become more "Cuban" once he gets to the island. Pilar and Antonio are fantastic characters who help him understand more about life in Cuba. He realizes everything he's missed by growing up in the U.S. and not sharing the same fate as Cubans on the island. He gives up his starched shirts and rental cars and ends up riding bikes and hitchhiking like everyone else. He leaves the five star hotel in Havana and sleeps in the huts where country people live. You can literally see him transforming himself into someone else as he moves through the film. This film doesn't show Cuba in overly romantic terms, but it's a pretty realistic and intelligent look at what it means to be Cuban. Roberto isn't as likeable as some of the characters Perugorría has played in other films, but I think that just shows the range of Perugorría's talents. We don't have to love Roberto to sympathize with him.

The spin doctor is in

[jeffcostello · 1/10 · 7 October 2001]

A Cuban American returns to Cuba in search for his long-lost mother. But his bags, alas, do not contain a hearing aid for director Humberto Solas, who's tone deaf for dialogue. Nor a Dictionary of American Slang, so his protagonist can use the right cuss words in English. Otherwise, in Spanish, he sounds as corny as a blurb on a romance novel's cover.

In exchange for a few politically incorrect venial sins, Mr. Solas delivers the neo-official party line, where only Cubans on the island know who they really are (despite "everything"), while Miami Cubans have to marry an American to get any respect. Are you sure? In Miami?!

Before Miel para Oshun, Mr. Solas handn't made a movie in a decade. Who said it was better to let sleeping dogs lie? Well, lie he did.

Important cinematographic document from Cuba :Good that this film was finally made despite lack of funds.

[FilmCriticLalitRao · 10/10 · 3 July 2007]

In 2004,I met Senor Humberto Solas at a film festival in India. After having discussed Latin American cinema at length with him,I got the impression that he is one of the legendary figures not only of Cuban cinema but also of World cinema. He spoke in particular about the enormous problems faced by certain filmmakers from Latin America. So it is in this context that people must watch this excellent film "Miel para Oshun". It is quite true that this film has not been shot using latest expensive gadgets. However there is no valid reason to believe that this could affect anyone's viewing pleasure. This film might be of interest to all regardless of one's language. What I found the most appealing is the manner in which Cuba has been portrayed in a positive light. Although at times, Miel para Oshun might appear maudlin but nevertheless the end result is bound to remain in viewers'mind for a long time to come. Leading player Jorge Perugorria is a joy to watch.

A real bad cuban experience

[pifas · 1/10 · 8 December 2003]

Miel para Oshún is wrongly called a movie. It's format is based on a documentary style, and very badly done I dare to say; also, it´s premise is so predictable that it almost becomes painful to watch. It´s about some cuban guy that was forceably taken by his father to Miami on his childhood who comes back to the island to encounter his mother (to find out why she didn't leave with them). Once there, he discovers by a cousin that everybody lied about the reasons why his mother stayed and to make things worse, his father, dead by now, made him promise that he'd never go back to Cuba (so he wouldn't find out, my guess). But, as the defiance to a deathbed oath becomes stronger because of his resentful feelings, he flies to Cuba to discover what really happened as well and getting to know his roots. He's helped on the task by his cousin and a taxi driver.

The flat screenplay has nothing to do with the bad results in the film; narrated in some sort of a road movie as well as a travelogue of those little, picture like towns in Cuba, Miel para Oshún is a terrible experience mainly because of it's visual aesthetics, soap-opera like, a very bad acting by everybody that transmits nothing to the viewer, and a long story that usually gives the feeling of going nowhere. Thank God we already knew the plot, otherwise, we wouldn't be able to get a clue. There's not much to do with this crap and I think Miel... tries to show the cuban culture but even in this matter fails. It is corny and amateur like, manipulative and dumb in it's dialogue, and generally speaking is boring like hell. By way before the half of the movie we stopped caring enough to not give a damn whether he finds his mother or not.

I rate it 1 star out of 10, and suggest to keep away from it.

a great story in a forbidden setting

[cflpeace · 10/10 · 20 February 2006]

Like all Cuban movies, this is made for Cubans with the knowledge that internationalists will be watching too; they're not made with the idea of instructing outsiders as to what's happening there. They do share with us, however, some of the daily realities of this remarkable people.

We get a lot of that in "Honey for Oshun" because it's a road movie.

Roberto also takes a road trip through his past, through the reality that his father kept from him. That - along with the trip through parts of a nation that our government forbids us to travel through in person - make for great viewing.

It's a fun movie.

So put aside all the preconceived ideas you might have about Cuba; this is not a propaganda film. Cuban filmmakers know they get their people discussing their problems and outsiders thinking about their stereotypes of Cuba, but they also know how to make entertaining movies.

"Honey for Oshun" is living proof of that.

A Brief Look

[cubria · 5 August 2004]

I wasn't sure what to expect and for the first 35 minutes or so I thought the film was going to be pure melodrama. But once the film got going I realized that this film is a look at one of the many cruel realities that both Cuban's and Cuban-American's face everyday, the loss of family and self. I thought the picture painted of Cuba and it's government was not overly critical. I was amazed, having been to Cuba myself and seeing the government control that this film was allowed to be shot, in that there were certain subtle criticisms of the government. Overall I thought the film was very well made and acted. If anything it certainly shows Cuba from Havana to the countryside. I do feel however that the almost romance between the lead character and his cousin was unnecessary and did nothing to improve the movie.

the beholder owns the eye

[mbumba · 10/10 · 26 September 2008]

the beholder owns the eye, and the film maker wields the dialectical prism. solas made a film about the Cuban dilemma. the protagonist Roberto was when a child kidnapped by his father, and taken to Miami (he believes that his mother abandoned him). as the first reel unwinds, Roberto as an adult is returning to Cuba to find his mother, and confront her. on his picaresque journey to encounter his mother, he travels across Cuba and discovers that he is among family and that he is not alone. solas who was a Marxist, subjects the financially well off Roberto to a Cuba reeling from the collapse of it's economy, but with it's heart still intact. it's a wonderful film about reconciliation.

Una pequeña maravilla

[silvertownexpress · 10 September 2011]

We streamed "Miel para Oshún" on Netflix, and this is just the sort of film that reaffirms the reasons I subscribe: there is no other way I ever would have come across this movie, these actors, or this jewel of a story. Even if you know nothing about Cuba or Cubans, see this movie. This is a real tribute to them, to their sense of humor, inventiveness, and warmth.

Premise: 30-something, Cuban-born Roberto finally travels home from the U.S.A. after the death of his father to find that he has been lied to about his mother. He embarks on a sojourn of the soul, as well as a physical journey that is frustrating in extremis.

A buddy movie, a comedy, a drama, the movie is full of clever dialogue, some of which made me wonder if Castro's censors are lightening up, or just not "getting" it (a painter who stops painting because "some people saw strange allegories in my work" and made things difficult for her). This low-budget film proves that money isn't everything. It's moving, funny, intriguing and just plain entertaining. What else is there?

Good, but glacial

[elij48 · 17 November 2004]

The movie had some good moments. The acting (especially the taxi driver) is decent. The view of the Cuban landscape, from one end of the country to the other, is, at times, delightful. The movie well evokes the yearning and pain of exile and the joy of reunion.

But, oh, oh, did the pace have to be so glacial?! I screened the movie with the idea of showing it in class (I'm a high school Spanish teacher). After about 15 minutes, I could easily imagine the entire class with their faces on their desks, sound asleep. Not good! Even the bleeping credits crawled across the screen for about fifteen minutes at the beginning of the film, soon becoming an annoying distraction.

And the central premise of the film...that Roberto "doesn't know who he is" because he's neither Cuban nor American...is completely ridiculous. There are about 100,000 other Cuban-American men just like Roberto in Miami who know exactly who they are. And the idea that a Cuban has to marry an American in the U.S. in order to get respect is just laughable. Tell that to the hundreds of thousands of Cubans here who are married to other Cubans or other Latinos and are doing just fine, thanks.

I guess this has to be seen as a movie that "could have been."