Mexico City, Mexico.- We propose a list of five cuban movies who have used the harsh national reality to humorously criticize our shortcomings and problems.
The horn of plenty
In Yaragüey, a small imaginary town in the interior of Cuba, unexpected and surreal news changes their lives. A part of the town could be lifted out of its perpetual poverty overnight. Those whose last name is Castiñeiras will receive a large inheritance bequeathed by some English nuns to the descendants of their family. This is how all those who had said last name (which were not few) get into this crazy treasure hunt as a solution to their problems. They even spend the money they didn’t have on procedures, and they get into debt because they already felt the inheritance was something safe.
Even Bernardo (Enrique Molina) is convinced by his family and joins in, although he only believed in what the national news confirmed. In fact, his son, Bernardito (Jorge Perugorría) is the leader of this adventure together with the representative of the Castiñeiras with the highest purchasing power, Mrs. Charo (Mirtha Ibarra).
This comedy directed by Juan Carlos Tabío was released in 2008.
It is exchanged
Glory(Rosita Fornes) is a modest seamstress who dreams of a mansion in Vedado for her daughter Yolanda (Isabel Santos) and not the small apartment where they live. Her daughter and her future husband, according to Gloria, deserved a more appropriate neighborhood for which she, a Cuban mother after all, spares no effort to achieve it. The Cuban plans an almost endless chain of exchanges that involves many people and not only from Havana.
Over and over again Gloria must change her plans because some link in that chain is broken. After many efforts, she has it: the dream house will be hers, but she did not count on the fact that her daughter wanted something else, or rather someone else (Mario Balmaseda).
In 1983, this funny film was released that brought Rosita back to Cuban cinema, with a script and direction by Juan Carlos Tabío.
A king in Havana
Arturo, an elderly Spanish man who presented himself as someone very rich, travels to Havana to marry Yoli, a beautiful young Cuban woman.
In the land where they live they receive him as a god. “Arturo, brother, give me a hand” the neighbors chanted, who greeted him with banners. Everything was going well until on the first night of the honeymoon the Spaniard died of a heart attack.
That’s where Papito comes in, the protagonist of this story. The young man, Yoli’s ex-boyfriend and still in love with her, impersonates Arturo and goes to Spain to collect the fortune that the Iberian supposedly had, however things do not go as planned.
This comedy was released in 2004 by Alexis Valdeswho in addition to playing Arturo/Papito directed the film.
The survivors
Directed by Tomás Gutiérrez Alea, a black comedy was released in 1979 and was nominated for the Palme d’Or at the Cannes Film Festival. Is about The survivors, a film that tells the story of an aristocratic family, with properties, servants and a lot of money that once the revolution triumphs they refuse to accept it to the point that they decide not to leave their mansion until something happens that overthrows “the Bearded Ones”. ”, and everything goes back to the way it was before. While waiting, they lost all the money they had saved in the bank and were left with nothing.
Time passed and the food they had stored ran out. So they forced the service personnel, now their slaves, to plant the gardens and take care of some farm animals for food. At night they were chained so they wouldn’t run away. Years passed and the “kidnapped” managed to flee. So the aristocratic family had no choice but to learn to survive on their own in the most primitive ways they can imagine.
Waiting list
It was the year 1993, the height of the special period, and everything in Cuba was chaotic. This story begins in a bus terminal, where the only bus that was leaving that day broke down. Desperate passengers wait for a vehicle that can take them to their destinations but they are all full. So with no other option they decide to repair a bus that is in the terminal because it was not working. Coexistence makes the links between these people strengthen as they get to know each other. They even prepare an unthinkable lobster dinner.
Also directed by Tabío, this film is based on the story by Arturo Arango. Its cast is headed in the main roles by the actors Jorge PerugorriaVladimir Cruz, Alina Rodríguez and Thaimí Alvariño.
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