Memories of Underdevelopment (1968)

A Cuban man cycles through his repressed opinions and memories as the threat of foreign invasion intensifies and the rest of his family retreats to Miami.

Director:

Tomás Gutiérrez Alea

Writers:

Edmundo Desnoes (novel), Edmundo Desnoes (screenplay)

Stars:

Sergio Corrieri, Daisy Granados, Eslinda Núñez

2 wins & 2 nominations.

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Sergio Corrieri	...	Sergio Carmona Mendoyo
Daisy Granados	...	Elena
Eslinda Núñez	...	Noemi
Omar Valdés	...	Pablo
René de la Cruz	...	Elena's brother
Yolanda Farr
Ofelia González
Jose Gil Abad
Daniel Jordan
Luis López
Rafael Sosa
Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Eduardo Casado Revuelta
René Depestre	...	Himself / Panelist
Edmundo Desnoes	...	Himself
Pello el Afrokán

Storyline

Sergio (Sergio Corrieri), through his life following the departure of his wife, parents and friends in the wake of the Bay of Pigs incident. Alone in a brave new world, Sergio observes the constant threat of foreign invasion while chasing young women all over Havana before finally meeting Elena (Daisy Granados), a young virgin girl he seeks to mould into the image of his ex-wife, but at what cost to himself?

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Plot Keywords:

cuba | cuban missile crisis | new latin american cinema | fidel castro | havana cuba | 

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Genres:

Drama

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Details

Official Sites:

Mr Bongo Films Official site [Japan]

Country:

Cuba

Language:

Spanish English

Release Date:

17 May 1973 (USA)

Also Known As:

Memories of Underdevelopment

Filming Locations:

Havana, Cuba

Box Office

Opening Weekend USA:

$8,244, 14 January 2018, Limited Release

Gross USA:

$29,647, 15 February 2018

Company Credits

Production Co:

Cuban State Film, Instituto Cubano del Arte e Industrias Cinematográficos (ICAIC)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

97 min 90 min (TV)

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The first film to be made in post-revolutionary Cuba to be released in the United States.

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Connections

Followed by Memorias del desarrollo (2010)

User Reviews

Dated but Important

In 1961, in Cuba, the apolitical aspiring and frustrated writer Sergio Carmona Mendoyo (Sergio Corrieri) stays in Cuba after the Revolution. He sees his wife Carla and his family and friends traveling to the United States but he decides to stay in his country. Sergio receives rental from his apartments and lives alone in a comfortable apartment. He witnesses the reduction of supplies, such as gas and oil for the cars, while recalls parts of his life.

He recalls when he was a teenager and went to a brothel with his friend Pablo (Omar Valdés). He remembers his relationship with Hanna that was the woman that he really loved but let her go to New York without marrying her to run the furniture shop that his father had given to him. He also like to listen to the tape he has recorded with his wife Carla that was molded by him to fit his concept of perfect woman in his society. When Sergio meets the sixteen year-old aspirant actress Elena (Daisy Granados), he has a love affair with her but he concludes that she is not suitable to live with him since she does not grow or develop intellectually.

"Memorias del subdesarrollo", a.k.a. "Memories of Underdevelopment", is a dated but important movie that shows the life of a man without political idealism or position witnessing the changes in his country after a socialist revolution. The screenplay entwines footages of the historical moment as a landscape of the world that the lead character is living in complete alienation. Maybe this is the greatest importance of this movie made in a period when people had political idealism. My vote is six.

Title (Brazil): "Memórias do Subdesenvolvimento" ("Memories of the Underdevelopment")