Cast overview, first billed only: | |||
Alberto Yoel | ... | Ruy (as Alberto Yoel García) | |
Roberto San Martín | ... | Tito | |
Yailene Sierra | ... | Caridad | |
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Mayra Rodríguez | ... | Lucía |
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Ernesto Escalona | ... | Carlitos |
Marta Calvó | ... | Marta | |
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Roger Pera | ... | Lorenzo |
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Osvaldo Doimeadiós | ... | Roger |
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Zenia Marabal | ... | Luz María |
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Laris Vega | ... | Betty |
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Jorge Alí | ... | Nelson (as Jorge Ali Pérez) |
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Félix Pérez | ... | René |
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Aurora Basnuevo | ... | Estrellita |
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Tomás Cao | ... | Álex (as Tomás A. Cao) |
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Giordano Serrano | ... | Giordano |
Two cuban friends play in a blues band in La Habana. When a spanish music producer offers them a contract to record an album and to build a career in Europe, they will have to decide between stay in their birthplace with their loved ones or grab the chance of leaving Cuba. Written by Jorge El Innombrable
Benito Zambrano's 'Habana Blues' has got all the clichés to make it marketable internationally. The story is very deja-vu and unfortunately, there isn't much to offer. Nothing new in any case. The themes of friendship, partying etc have been done to death. In the first half, the pace just drags on. For a movie that's about music, one would expect at least a few great tracks and here while the instrumental tracks work to an extent, the songs fail because either the lyrics are syrupy or they're too preachy. The execution is quite poor. Cinematography is flat and the background score give it an out-of-date feel. The only sequences that got my attention were the ones with Caridad. This is perhaps majorly due to Yailene Sierra's terrific performance. In addition, I also liked the scenes with Tito's grandmother. Roberto Sanmartin is passable while Alberto Yoel's wooden acting is one of the major factors that contribute to 'Habana Blues's list of flaws. As a whole, 'Habana Blues' just did not work for me.