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First of all, I must confess that it’s quite difficult to
review a documentary. Well, I guess the first step is to decide whether the
movie is interesting or boring. As for me,
L’Oro di Cuba is definitely
an interesting one. I’m not saying this only because I have always been
concerned with issues linked to Latin America, especially Cuba, but because,
above all, the film is an entertaining, well-crafted piece of cinema.
What’s really worth mentioning is that although Giuliano Montaldo’s movie
presents Cuban reality on the 50th anniversary of the Cuban Revolution, it
doesn’t only relate to Fidel, Che Guevara and the revolution itself.
Instead, it shows selected aspects of the Cubans’ contemporary culture and
society. We can feel the beat of Cuban music, feel the Caribbean heat and
get the impression that we really are there, crossing the narrow streets
along with the director. At the same time, Montaldo gives us a chance to
listen to some people’s stories - people who lost their families or suffered
during the revolution and who still remember these moments in detail. This
technique of mixing the words of today’s young Cubans with the memories of
the older generation is what makes this documentary interesting and easy to
follow.
However, I need to say that L’Oro di
Cuba is aimed mostly at the Italian public as it points out only
Cuban-Italian relations, concerning the film industry, education, etc.
That’s why I doubt it is going to be screened at international theatres or
televisions, but probably it wasn’t even meant to. That’s a pity, since I
have recently seen so many bad documentary movies (including those shown at
movie festivals), that it would be nice to have such an interesting,
well-made one in cinemas in Poland and around the world. So, if you are fed
up with boring documentary productions that don’t add anything new to what
you have already known or heard many times, you should give
L’Oro de Cuba a try and I
dare say you’ll be positively surprised.
12:09:2009
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