The Cuban Masterworks Collection (First Run; The Twelve Chairs/The Adventures Of
Juan Quin Quin/Celia/Amada/A Successful Man)
Picture: C (C+ for Successful Man & Amada) Sound: C+ Extras: C+ Films:
The
Twelve Chairs (1962) C+
The
Adventures Of Juan Quin Quin (1967) B-
Celia (1981)
C+
Amada (1982)
C+
A
Successful Man (1986) C+
Cuba’s revolution crated a distinct cinema that was
still propagated and predictable as far as its pro-Soviet, revolutionary and
Communist/Socialist leanings were concerned, but some aspects of the cinema do
hold up and remind us of how effective their Soviet-backed state-run studio
was. Especially after The Cuban Missile
Crisis, they turned to cinematic propaganda to assert a kind of identity. These five films show the rise and fall of
that spirit.
An earlier version of The Twelve Chairs
(1962, or eight years before the Mel Brooks version and nine before a Soviet
version of the Ilya Ilf/Yevgeni Petrov novel) directed by Tomas Gutierrez Alea
(Strawberries & Chocolate) transplants the tale set in 1920s Russia to
then-current Cuba. A one-time aristocrat whose wealth
was confiscated after the Cuban revolution has hope about his future when
his dying mother tells him of some expensive jewels sewn into one of twelve chairs;
he sets out on a madcap cross-country journey in hopes of finding the
treasure. He joins forces with a handsome con artist, while a priest also
pursues the chairs. The difference here
is all the propaganda inserted from actual newsreels of how Castro’s people
took back wealth for “the people” and why wealth is bad within the
narrative. It makes for an amusing
comparison to the Brooks film and has enough energy to be entertaining as it is
dated. Wait until you see the diamond
the film ends on. The 1.66 X 1 black and white image is detail
challenged, but has some amusing animated credits. Extras on Chairs include
Alea biography, stills, Triada
-excerpts from Cuban films with commentaries by their young filmmakers and Unknowns
Of The ICAIC.
Julio Garcia Espinosa’s The Adventures Of Juan
Quin Quin (1967) opens with a Hollywood Western/Spaghetti Western credits
sequence, but the film is far from that.
Instead, it is about how the title character has to go from menial job
to goofy job until the revolution happens.
It too is a comedy, but the kind that might terrify Wal-Mart. The letterboxed 2.35 X 1 black and white
image is detail challenged, but the use of scope composition by cinematographer
Jorge Haydu makes it more watchable beyond any ideology and produces some
unintended hoots. Extras for Quin
include stills, text bio/filmography for Espinosa and the vintage featurette Por
Primera Vez showing Cubans experiencing film for the first time. They even get to see Chaplin’s Modern
Times!
Celia (1981
aka Cecilia Valdéz) is about the mixed-race, financially disadvantaged
title character in 1830s Cuba and how the son of one of the wealthiest colonial
families falls for her. It is the same
tale we have heard of before, but the underpinning is that they could live and
love without hate and prejudice if the revolution made them “equal” since they
are so “tolerant” since Castro arrived.
He result is a melodrama with a propagandic twist. The letterboxed 1.85 X 1 color image can be
faded and detail challenged, but is not bad otherwise despite constant limits
like this. Extras include stills, Solas
text bio/filmography info and Cualquier Muher (aka Any Kind Of Woman)
short featuring interviews with top Cuban actresses.
Amada (1982)
only goes back to 1914 Havana, but here Solas is back with a wacky melodrama
about the title character falling for her cousin while her husband cheats on
her. Another crazy melodrama not so
cleverly disguising its propagandic intents, it runs on a bit. The letterboxed 1.85 X 1 color image is
stylized, but one of the better in this set.
Extras include stills, repeats the Solas text bio/filmography info and
offers a vintage featurette on composer Leo Brouwer.
A
Successful Man (1986, aka A Man Of Success) has Solas
covering the years just before Revolution arrives, starts in 1932 and tells the
tale of two brothers and the different paths they take leading up to the big
change. One tries playing both sides,
the other is a Revolutionary. Guess who
does better? The 1.66 X 1 image is shot
to look like an older film and the opening credits combine stock footage with
old Hollywood Art Deco-styled credits.
Scorsese’s New York, New York it’s not, but its attempt to do all
the years to Castro’s 1959 takeover is almost unintentionally funny, especially
since it only runs 103 minutes. Extras
the Solas text bio/filmography info, offers new stills and the dance featurette
Nostalgia Del Cha Cha Cha about the famous dance in the 1950s.
I should add that Solas’ use of religion as part of
the propaganda would be considered against the people if it were not integrated
into the propaganda so well, but the 1980s Cuban Cinema is not as dynamic or
challenging as the earlier works, almost an admission of Castro’s betrayals of
his people and the ideas that made their revolution seem “possible” at first
before its failure. All they could do
was hold on, proven by their existence long after the fall of the U.S.S.R. and the
melodrama is just distraction from that.
The audio
on each is Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono and though it gets a little better as the
films become newer, the older films do not sound bad for their age and have
character in their mixes the newer ones lack.
All in all, this is an interesting set of films from a cinema that is
little discusses. Hope we see more of
the 1960s and early 1970s films soon.
- Nicholas Sheffo
