Buena Vista Social Club (1999)

User Rating:

7.2/10   

Director:

Wim Wenders

Writer:

Wim Wenders (writer)

Release Date:

4 June 1999 (USA)

Genre:

Documentary | Music

Tagline:

Cubas Poesie Cubas Musik, Cubas Menschen, Cubas Poesie [The music of Cuba, the people of Cuba, the poetry of Cuba]

Plot:

Aging Cuban musicians whose talents had been virtually forgotten following Castro's takeover of Cuba, are brought out of retirement by Ry Cooder, who travelled to Havana in order to bring the musicians together, resulting in triumphant performances of extraordinary music, and resurrecting the musicians' careers.

Plot Keywords:

Cuba | Havana Cuba | Interview | Latin America | Caribbean

Awards:

Nominated for Oscar. Another 18 wins & 8 nominations

Cast

Compay Segundo	...	Himself
Eliades Ochoa	...	Himself
Ry Cooder	...	Himself
Joachim Cooder	...	Himself
Ibrahim Ferrer	...	Himself
Omara Portuondo	...	Herself
Rubén González	...	Himself
Orlando 'Cachaíto' López	...	Himself
Amadito Valdés	...	Himself
Manuel 'Guajiro' Mirabal	...	Himself
Barbarito Torres	...	Himself
Pío Leyva	...	Himself
Manuel 'Puntillita' Licea	...	Himself
Juan de Marcos González	...	Himself
Octavio Calderon	...	Himself - Musician

Also Known As:

Buena Vista Social Club (France)
Havana Rhapsody (USA) (working title)
Ry Cooder & the Buena Vista Social Club (USA) (working title)

Runtime:

105 min

Country:

Germany | USA | UK | France | Cuba

Language:

English | Spanish

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.78 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

Iceland:L | Brazil:Livre | South Korea:All | Philippines:G | Argentina:Atp | Australia:G | Chile:TE | Finland:S | France:U | Hong Kong:I | Netherlands:AL | New Zealand:G | Norway:A | Peru:PT | Portugal:M/12 | Singapore:PG | Spain:T | Sweden:Btl | Switzerland:7 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:7 (canton of Vaud) | UK:U | USA:G

Filming Locations:

Amsterdam, Noord-Holland, Netherlands

Company:

Road Movies Filmproduktion

Trivia:

The Buena Vista Social Club album was put together by guitarist Ry Cooder in 1997 as a means of recapturing the "lost" music of pre-revolutionary Havana. The story was later made into this movie.

Movie Connections:

Featured in "Siskel & Ebert & the Movies: (1999-07-03)" (1999)

Soundtrack:

Chanchullo

Well-done documentary about long forgotten Cuban musicians ...

1st watched 3/14/2001 - (Dir-Wim Wenders): Well-done documentary about long forgotten Cuban musicians and American country musician Ry Cooder's adventure into putting together this band. The music is captivating, the musician's come across as greatful wonderful people who just happen to be able to play their particular instrument very well. Tremendous look into Cuba and it's people with many shots of the city Havana. These musicians are very proud of their country and have no intention of difecting as we as Americans feel that they would because of our limited exposure into this culture. Rare opportunity to walk into a land and people that we don't often see.