Carla, a young woman living alone in Havana, has a thankless job in a local post office. She is the one responsible for canceling the stamps in all the letters that are deposited in that branch. She also has an knack for selecting different letters that "speak" to her. When she opens them, she transforms the text. Where there was despair, she writes a hopeful message; where there is loneliness, she is a solace for the one that will receive it. Even for a television personality she is instrumental in changing one of the letters that criticize him into a loving poem that when he reads it on his program, is an instant success.
This young woman has won the visa lottery to go to the United States, where her parents are now living. At the beginning of the story, all she wants to do is get away from the monotony of her lonely life and go join her family in Miami. Fate intervenes in the form of Cesar, one of the letter carriers. He is young and begins to see that in spite of Carla's problems at work and in her personal life, she is worth pursuing.
There are different interpretations about the Cuban realities in the film. One can see certain things in which some of the country's problems are seen by Carla, her co-workers, and even by her nosy neighbor. Carla wants to help others, but she hardly can help herself. When the new manager arrives, she sees right through her employee that something funny is happening. At the end, Carla receives the exit permit and we watch her take a taxi to the airport, but we realize she is not going anywhere.
The film is a light comedy directed by Juan Carlos Cremata Maberti, who also co-wrote it and contributed to the editing of the film. Shot in black and white, it incorporates certain color elements to emphasize what's happening in a particular scene. Thus, we see the yellow pencil used by Carla, as well as the many colors of her Tiffany lamp, the gold fish in the glass jar, the yellow taxi, the butterfly and the rainbow at the end of the film while the background is always black and white.
Thais Valdes plays Carla with stoic determination. She doesn't express much, making this enigmatic woman into somebody that is playing magic behind what she writes in the letters. Daisy Granados, a veteran actress of the Cuban cinema appears as Cunda, a manager from hell. Nacho Lugo is seen as Cesar and the delightful Paula Ali has some funny moments as the office spy.
This film shows a new director in the Cuban cinema. Juan Carlos Cremata Maberti shows he has an innovative way for telling his story and has gathered an interesting team to work on it.
This young woman has won the visa lottery to go to the United States, where her parents are now living. At the beginning of the story, all she wants to do is get away from the monotony of her lonely life and go join her family in Miami. Fate intervenes in the form of Cesar, one of the letter carriers. He is young and begins to see that in spite of Carla's problems at work and in her personal life, she is worth pursuing.
There are different interpretations about the Cuban realities in the film. One can see certain things in which some of the country's problems are seen by Carla, her co-workers, and even by her nosy neighbor. Carla wants to help others, but she hardly can help herself. When the new manager arrives, she sees right through her employee that something funny is happening. At the end, Carla receives the exit permit and we watch her take a taxi to the airport, but we realize she is not going anywhere.
The film is a light comedy directed by Juan Carlos Cremata Maberti, who also co-wrote it and contributed to the editing of the film. Shot in black and white, it incorporates certain color elements to emphasize what's happening in a particular scene. Thus, we see the yellow pencil used by Carla, as well as the many colors of her Tiffany lamp, the gold fish in the glass jar, the yellow taxi, the butterfly and the rainbow at the end of the film while the background is always black and white.
Thais Valdes plays Carla with stoic determination. She doesn't express much, making this enigmatic woman into somebody that is playing magic behind what she writes in the letters. Daisy Granados, a veteran actress of the Cuban cinema appears as Cunda, a manager from hell. Nacho Lugo is seen as Cesar and the delightful Paula Ali has some funny moments as the office spy.
This film shows a new director in the Cuban cinema. Juan Carlos Cremata Maberti shows he has an innovative way for telling his story and has gathered an interesting team to work on it.