Life is to Whistle (1998)

Three characters in present-day Havana must choose between clinging to their self-restricting beliefs, or getting rid of them to live more freely. Ballerina Mariana has promised God ... See full summary »

Director:

Fernando Pérez

Writers:

Humberto Jiménez, Fernando Pérez

Stars:

José Andrade, Maudelet Badia, Elena Bolaños

17 wins & 3 nominations.

Cast

Credited cast:
José Andrade	...	Obrero Teatro
Maudelet Badia	...	Odalisca 2
Elena Bolaños	...	Anciana Asilo
Rolando Brito	...	Dr. Fernando
Alina Canizares	...	Profesora 1
Leandro Carfuso	...	Elpidito
Ines Maria Castillo	...	Cuba Valdes
Ileana Chávez	...	Secretaria 1
Michaelis Cue	...	Hombrecito
Annieye Cárdenas	...	Desmayados
Miguel A. Daranas	...	Director Asilo
Aramís Delgado	...	Vigon
Aimeé Despaigne	...	Profesora 2
Madeleine Garcia	...	Secretaria 2
Luis Alberto García	...	Elpidio Valdes

Storyline

Three characters in present-day Havana must choose between clinging to their self-restricting beliefs, or getting rid of them to live more freely. Ballerina Mariana has promised God celibacy if she gets the role of "Giselle"; Social-worker Julia always faints after hearing a certain word; and pot-smoking percussionist Elpidio was abandoned by his mother, coincidentally named Cuba, some time ago and has not yet gotten over the loss.

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Plot Keywords:

public nudity | male nudity | male frontal nudity | daydream | psychologist | 

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Taglines:

Tres historias, tres personajes y un fin común: la búsqueda de la felicidad en La Habana de hoy.

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Genres:

Drama

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Details

Country:

Cuba Spain

Language:

Spanish

Release Date:

18 June 1999 (Spain)

Also Known As:

Life is to Whistle

Box Office

Opening Weekend USA:

$7,846, 9 January 2000, Limited Release

Gross USA:

$63,574, 12 November 2000

Company Credits

Production Co:

Instituto Cubano del Arte e Industrias Cinematográficos (ICAIC), Wanda Films, Wanda Visión S.A.

Technical Specs

Runtime:

106 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Connections

Referenced in La vida es filmar (1998)

User Reviews

Strong believes in a poor life

One has to see carefully this film without loosing any scene. Here the scenes are scattered like a Victor Hugo´s novel, so you must make the links in your mind in order to understand the subtle messages. Elpidio is a Cuban guy, son of a lady called Cuba, so this is the way to say something not about Cuba mother but Cuba country. The plot makes too much emphasis on sex, and when people on the streets listen this word, they fall down. The most interesting scene is when the doctor trying to help an old lady who does not want to listen the word sex, publicly says that double standard should not exist and that everybody should be him or herself. So in these scenes there is a critic to the way of living of several Cuban citizens. The cult Yoruba is also clear how most of the Cubans practise it, being Elpidio an active practiser of this cult. Another aspect shown here is the sexual tourism in Cuba, a foreign lady from unknown country (played excellently by Isabel Santos) falls in love with Elpidio (Luis Alberto García), she had sex with all the erotism of the world with the Cuban guy. The film was very careful not to show the poor state of Havana sites and streets, it only shows the famous Havana Malecon, which is in a very bad conditions. In conclusion, this is a modest Cuban film, probably the director did not want to go beyond certain line to avoid any internal bitter critic.