Buena Vista Social Club (1999)

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.

Director:

Wim Wenders

Writers:

Wim Wenders (by), Nick Gold (original concept)

Stars:

Compay Segundo, Ibrahim Ferrer, Rubén González

Nominated for 1 Oscar. Another 20 wins & 10 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Octavio Calderon	...	Himself - Musician
Joachim Cooder	...	Himself
Ry Cooder	...	Himself
Angel Terry Domech	...	Himself
Ibrahim Ferrer	...	Himself
Ibrahim Ferrer Jr.	...	Himself
Manuel Galbán	...	Himself - Musician
Hugo Garzón	...	Himself
Carlos González	...	Himself
Juan de Marcos González	...	Himself
Rubén González	...	Himself
Pío Leyva	...	Himself
Manuel 'Puntillita' Licea	...	Himself
Orlando 'Cachaíto' López	...	Himself
Manuel 'Guajiro' Mirabal	...	Himself

Storyline

A group of legendary Cuban musicians, some as old as their nineties, were brought together by Ry Cooder to record a CD. In this film, we see and hear some of the songs being recorded in Havana. There is also footage from concerts in Amsterdam and New York City's Carnegie Hall. In addition, many of the individual musicians talk about their lives in Cuba and about how they got started in music.

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Plot Keywords:

musician | comeback | new york | cigar smoking | cuba | 

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Taglines:

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

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Genres:

Documentary | Music

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Certificate:

G

Details

Official Sites:

PBS [United States]

Country:

Germany USA UK France Cuba

Language:

English Spanish

Release Date:

4 June 1999 (USA)

Also Known As:

Havana Rhapsody

Filming Locations:

Amsterdam, Noord-Holland, Netherlands

Box Office

Opening Weekend USA:

$127,370, 6 June 1999, Limited Release

Gross USA:

$6,997,620, 30 January 2000

Company Credits

Production Co:

Road Movies Filmproduktion, Kintop Pictures, Instituto Cubano del Arte e Industrias Cinematográficos (ICAIC)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

105 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Black and White Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The success of the album and this subsequent documentary had a deep impact on the Cuban tourist industry, raising the country's profile.

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Connections

Referenced in Blue Is the Warmest Color (2013)

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Soundtracks

Candela
Written by Faustino Oramas

User Reviews

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.