I caught the last part of this documentary on one of the Bay Area PBS stations--KCSM--and couldn't believe my eyes. Unlike nearly everything one sees about Cuba, this film opens the door to a clear view of something that has been, for the most part, distorted and simplistically portrayed. The depiction we have of the revolution comes mainly from the winners--the Castro party--and also from people who identify as the losers--who cannot get out from under that feeling. By contrast, this wonderful narrative wipes the slate clean. Along the way, and just in passing, it nicely rebuts the perspectives of the Obama administration, which has crawled snugly into bed with the Castro version of things. But that's politics, and the important interest here is history. The Dutch philosopher Huizinga said that nothing can substitute for the pure taste of history. This film takes us back to the source and delivers the pure taste. It's sincere, it's stylish, it's unfettered, and it's true.
3 Reviews
CUBA: The Forgotten Revolution
fredthomas-9927114 February 2018
Warning: Spoilers
When most people think about the Cuban Revolution, whether you love him or hate him it is recognized Fidel Castro was the leader.
This past weekend Loyola Marymount University hosted "A Celebration of Cuban Arts and Culture." Among several activities, Professor Glenn Gebhard, noted film director and professor in the LMU School of Film and Television screened his Emmy award doc, "Cuba - The Forgotten Revolution." The film came out in 2015.
The piece is not just another bio-pic about Cuba. What it does is update the historical record and highlights how Fidel rose to the ultimate leadership position.
Prior to the noted take-over in 1959, escalating in the 1950's there were several opposition forces to the Bautista regime. The film highlights leaders who at the time were more powerful than Fidel. Two which deservingly captured the research of Gebhard was Jose Antonio Echeverria and Frank Pais. Many young people across the island formed their activism while attending the University of Havana. Jose Antonio Echeverria was student body president and developed quite a following which bled out of the University to the western part of the country. Frank Pais (Pie-Es) was at the southeastern portion of the island in the Santiago region and also had assembled an impressive opposition group.
Fidel's martyrdom is well documented. Unfortunately, Echeverria nor Pais lived to see the victory of the revolution. Echeverria was killed at 25 years old in 1957. Several months later in July País who was just 22 years old was also killed.
Even though previous historical accounts skip over their place in the revolution (highlighting Fidel as the primary leader), Gebhard's film gives you a much better perspective how their actions fueled the revolution and successfully forced Bautista out. After all, following the July 26, 1953 ill-fated battle at Moncada prison, where Fidel suffered a defeat and subsequently was captured and imprisoned, Echeverria and País had forces much larger than his.
In completing the film, Gebhard compiled a fledging team who were able to cull together solid documentation. However, it was through his connection with Steve Krahnke and his team at PBS that finally made the film a reality.
The thing about a documentary is facts are pulled together from the perspective of the producers. Some may dismiss their facts but just as Gebhard presented information to update the record, until others provide refutable facts, the presentation becomes the current account.
My score, a 10 based on content.
This past weekend Loyola Marymount University hosted "A Celebration of Cuban Arts and Culture." Among several activities, Professor Glenn Gebhard, noted film director and professor in the LMU School of Film and Television screened his Emmy award doc, "Cuba - The Forgotten Revolution." The film came out in 2015.
The piece is not just another bio-pic about Cuba. What it does is update the historical record and highlights how Fidel rose to the ultimate leadership position.
Prior to the noted take-over in 1959, escalating in the 1950's there were several opposition forces to the Bautista regime. The film highlights leaders who at the time were more powerful than Fidel. Two which deservingly captured the research of Gebhard was Jose Antonio Echeverria and Frank Pais. Many young people across the island formed their activism while attending the University of Havana. Jose Antonio Echeverria was student body president and developed quite a following which bled out of the University to the western part of the country. Frank Pais (Pie-Es) was at the southeastern portion of the island in the Santiago region and also had assembled an impressive opposition group.
Fidel's martyrdom is well documented. Unfortunately, Echeverria nor Pais lived to see the victory of the revolution. Echeverria was killed at 25 years old in 1957. Several months later in July País who was just 22 years old was also killed.
Even though previous historical accounts skip over their place in the revolution (highlighting Fidel as the primary leader), Gebhard's film gives you a much better perspective how their actions fueled the revolution and successfully forced Bautista out. After all, following the July 26, 1953 ill-fated battle at Moncada prison, where Fidel suffered a defeat and subsequently was captured and imprisoned, Echeverria and País had forces much larger than his.
In completing the film, Gebhard compiled a fledging team who were able to cull together solid documentation. However, it was through his connection with Steve Krahnke and his team at PBS that finally made the film a reality.
The thing about a documentary is facts are pulled together from the perspective of the producers. Some may dismiss their facts but just as Gebhard presented information to update the record, until others provide refutable facts, the presentation becomes the current account.
My score, a 10 based on content.
Propaganda Works Both Ways
enofile22 February 2017
While Fidel Castro was hardly a saint, and he distorted the values of a socialist revolution during his reign of terror in Cuba, the intent of this film is to vilify the young revolutionary. Castro was heroic in his leadership that led to the overthrow of the violent dictatorship of Batista. That he turned his conquest into his own personal autocracy, cannot be denied. However, portraying the young Fidel as a selfish, narcissistic, egomaniac, only interested in furthering his own personal agenda, is a distortion of history. I wonder whose money paid for this documentary, and how much of this money came from the Miami Cuban population angry over the lifting of the embargo.
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