Maluala
(1979/Cuba/First Run/Icestorm DVD)
Picture:
C Sound: C Extras: C+ Film: B-
Sergio
Giral’s trilogy of films about the slave uprising in Cuba is little discussed
or seen, so much so that the first two films in it are listed in contradictory
ways over the internet, though we know The
Other Francisco (1975) is one of them and Slave Hunter (1976) is supposedly the middle, but not all records
confirm this. However good they may be, Maluala (1979) is the intriguing,
believable, concluding chapter in the historical saga and is a very good film.
You do
not need to see the other films to appreciate the tale of exploitation,
corruption and even torture and murder that will remind many viewers
immediately of a Spaghetti Western of all things, as this is a pretty raw
film. However, it is an all too rare
portrait of a corrupt church likely censored because the truth is too telling
of ugliness going on today. Nevertheless,
this has its propaganda intents ala Soviet and Cuban cinema in its time, but
enough of it is inarguable that it is worth seeing.
The letterboxed
1.85 X 1 image is soft and color-challenged (including some fading) from a
rough, scratched print that shows how much work the film needs. Hope the negative is in good shape. The Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono is rough with
background noise and some harshness.
Extras includes the short film El
Mégato (The Charcoal Worker,
1955, in black and white and in rougher condition) and three trailers for other
films in the series, including two specifically for discs we have already covered
on Castro and Che.
- Nicholas Sheffo
