I Am Cuba (1964)
"Soy Cuba" (original title)

This study of Cuba--partially written by renowned poet Yevgeny Yevtushenko--captures the island just before it made the transition to a post-revolutionary society. Moving from city to ... See full summary »

Director:

Mikhail Kalatozov

Writers:

Enrique Pineda Barnet, Yevgeni Yevtushenko

Stars:

Sergio Corrieri, Salvador Wood, José Gallardo

2 wins & 1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Sergio Corrieri	...	Alberto
Salvador Wood
José Gallardo	...	Pedro
Raúl García	...	Enrique
Luz María Collazo	...	Maria / Betty
Jean Bouise	...	Jim (in Cuban version) (as Jean Bouisse)
Alberto Morgan
Celia Rodriguez	...	Gloria (in Cuban version) (as Zilia Rodríguez)
Fausto Mirabal
Roberto García York	...	American activist
María de las Mercedes Díez
Bárbara Domínguez
Jesús del Monte	...	(as Isis del Monte)
Luisa María Jiménez	...	Teresa
Mario González Broche	...	Pablo (in Cuban version) (as Mario González)

Storyline

This study of Cuba--partially written by renowned poet Yevgeny Yevtushenko--captures the island just before it made the transition to a post-revolutionary society. Moving from city to country and back again, I AM CUBA examines the various problems caused by political oppression as well as by great discrepancies in wealth and power. Beginning in Havana in the pre-Castro era, we see how foreigners contributed to the city's prostitution and poverty; this sequence features dreamy, hallucinogenic camera work that creates a feeling of unease and dislocation. Then, in glorious images of palm tress and fertile land, the film looks at the sugar cane fields in the countryside, and the difficulties faced by peasants working the land. Finally, back in the city again, leftist students battle the police and a corrupt government--and pay a high price for their rebellion.

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Plot Keywords:

peasant | land | police | student | cuba | 

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Genres:

Drama

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Details

Official Sites:

Mr Bongo Films

Country:

Cuba Soviet Union

Language:

Spanish English

Release Date:

December 1995 (USA)

Also Known As:

I Am Cuba

Filming Locations:

Cuba

Box Office

Gross:

$160,697 (USA)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Instituto Cubano del Arte e Industrias Cinematográficos (ICAIC), Mosfilm

Technical Specs

Runtime:

141 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The now famous long take that begins at the top of the hotel, then winds around and down into the swimming pool, originally come out of the water and continued. The camera was hand held, passed from crew member to crew member, to make its way down the side of the hotel into the pool. The camera lens had been equipped with a high speed, spinning glass disk taken from a submarine periscope. The spinning disk was installed to fling water drops of the lens when the camera emerged from the swimming pool at the end of the shot. Much to the disappointment of the camera crew, director Mikhail Kalatozov cut the end of the take, ending it underwater.

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Quotes

Pedro: I used to think the most terrifying thing in life is death. Now I know the most terrifying thing in life is life.

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Connections

Featured in I am Cuba, the Siberian Mammoth (2005)

User Reviews

Neglected Propaganda Masterpiece of Great Visual Beauty

I am Cuba/Soy Cuba features the stories of several Cuban citizen-types: a young prostitute, a farmer, a young revolutionary and so on, up to the start of the island's Castro Revolution.

If this sounds dull, then rest assured that the plot is minimal and, despite it's avowedly political purpose, hardly gets in the way of the film's main attractions today. What distinguishes the production is the cinematography. It is not an exaggeration to say that the images and technique in the film are breathtaking, and it is a tour-de-force of bravura camera work. Apparently Martin Scorcese has screened this film privately to work out how such-and-such a shot was achieved, and perhaps it's influence can be found in the famous through-the-kitchens tracking shot in 'Goodfellas'.

This is a film where the camera is constantly in motion, with sweeping balletic long takes, crane and hand held shots, tracking shots, including some over and down the side of buildings, through cane fields, into swimming pools, around packed night clubs, even hovering and moving along high over a street in the middle of a packed funeral procession - all without the usual cutting. I estimate the average length of a take in this film at about 2 - 3 minutes, a figure rare and astonishing these days, even with the benefit of steadicams - but jaw dropping given the still-unwieldy equipment they were surely using in 1964. In particular one or two large scale sequences must have taken days, if not weeks, to prepare, and presumably needed government marshaling to choreograph. (Ironically, whether or not the film makers intended it, the liberated camera work on display here reflects the notion of revolutionary freedom far more than the actual story vignettes.)

The film itself is shot in high contrast gleaming black and white, favouring wide angle lenses, and with a constant deep focus that reminded me of Greg Toland's work for Welles or some of James Wong Howes' work. Kalatozov's use of a handful of character 'types' throughout recalls Eisenstein's (and in fact there is a faint reference to his the Odessa Steps sequence in 'Battleship Potemkin' at one point when the revolutionary rioters march down some steps), but the effect here is far more sensual and lyrical. (Among the professional actors, Sergio Corrieri also appears in the better-known Memories of Underdevelopment). The film's 'artiness' is undeniably a distraction from the message of struggle, and to the original viewers the beautiful images must have been a long way from reality in the New Cuba.

Today we don't have this problem and the viewer is left with a visual feast to enjoy over and over again..