1964 ‘Soy Cuba’ Directed by Mikhail Kalatozov
An unabashed exercise in cinema stylistics, I Am Cuba is pro-Castro/anti-Batista rhetoric dressed up in the finest clothes. The film's four dramatic stories take place in the final days of the Batista regime; the first two illustrate the ills that led to the revolution, the third and fourth the call to arms which cut across social and economic lines.
TFW you're an authoritarian tyrant who, during your life time, imprisoned and executed thousands of your citizens, put homosexuals, religious people, conscientious objectors and other "dissidents" in labour camps, fucked over freedom of speech by seizing control of the media and mysteriously making your political opponents "disappear", suppressed labour unions, thought starting a nuclear war was a good idea and all in all was a deplorable dictator of finest quality and yet, after your death, you're still hailed as a true symbol of freedom and anti oppression by the left
Tomorrow I am going to celebrate the memory of Adolf Hitler – I mean, the man DID, after all, build the Autobanh! #Communism4lyfe
just yesterday i repeated that joke—you know, ‘we need to take care of the world we’re leaving to fidel castro’—and desperately prayed he’d hold out at least ’til the end of the year. a great number of 2016’s deaths have hit me hard, but none have made me sob so openly as his.
so i chose to remember him with this, the purest and most extravagant expression of emotion i’ve ever seen committed to film, and thus it came to pass that i completely broke down at ‘you’re not old, papa. you’re not old!’, and then again at ‘they killed fidel castro’, and then all over again at ‘fidel? i am fidel!’
la historia te absolverá, lovely. la historia te ha absuelto.
One day, they might tell stories like this about us. If we keep fighting, one day, they will look back and see only the distortions of us and our struggle, only the broad strokes, and they will be so enamored with our victories that they make something as alive and wondrous as this to celebrate us. The story will not be exactly the same. The tourists who steal treasures and callously dismiss the women they use would be us as well, not some foreigners on our soil, partying and unleashing their unabashed, clawing, taking ids. Those of us descended of European settlers are the invaders here. No revolution here can realize true communism unless that legacy is addressed.
But the…
I Am Cuba is a propaganda piece, and it shows, but it transcends that and becomes genuine cinematic art with strong humanism by its poetic storytelling. Its rather straight-forward in terms of plot, as it shows 4 different vignettes of everyday life, portraying the human struggle of living under harsh circumstances despite of the beautiful surroundings of Cuba. Its however, a technical, audiovisual marvel. Unsurprisingly, one of the most visually breathtaking films i've seen, some of these shots are just unbelievable. It has to be seen in order to be believed. Regardless of political standpoints, and as a filmlover, its pure joy watching these inventive and impressive shots unfold. The opening. The nightclub scenes. The scenes in the fields. The funeral scene. The ending. So much stuff to Wow at. Mikhail Kalatozov and Sergei Urusevsky must be one of the best duo's in the history of film. Beautiful, beautiful stuff, a new favorite.
Film #6 of Florin's Recommendations
“No, it’s not interesting senior.”
Camera enters the room, it moves around then exits through the window and goes floating over a crowded street. In another scene it moves around a room then moves out of the window, moves vertically to get to the bottom floor and then again moves around and finally follows a woman into the pool and goes under the water. How is that possible? I have no idea. The camera work is amazing, it moves in all possible ways and captures some bizarre images. A visually stunning movie and one that should be watched by anyone who seeks new experiences, one of the best cinematographies ever. Period.
But is that enough?…
I Am Cuba is, in many ways, a masterpiece. It's a story told in four episodes by Cuba, the island, itself. But, this is not an objective film, instead, it is highly political--even a piece of propaganda. It was funded by the Soviet government (made by a Soviet director) in the interest of promoting socialism and the Cuban revolution. However, this film was received badly in both Cuba and Russia, and would later be discovered in the 90s. What is so striking about this film is the camera work. It needn't be said, but... awe-inspiring. For the first 3 episodes, the direction and technical work embody the concept of an ethereal being telling a story wondrously, taking work that Welles…
Yeah, it just goes right for the bald emotional response, and the later segments are not as good as the first, but just about everything the camera does here is astounding.
Guess I still don't like nationalistic didacticism even when it leans my way (i.e. I don't like propaganda) as the final exhortation really marred the rest of the film for me. (Only saying this about the ending, really--I was very on board for more or less everything else.) That being said, I love the aesthetics of this film quite a lot, frenzied camera, overdubbed sound design and all.
79/100
Roger Ebert couldn't figure it out! "How it was done, I have no idea." He refers to the sizzling Havana opening shot. The camera's eye and movement in this and so many other moments of this 1964 Cuban/Soviet anti-American film are astonishing. Four separate stories attempt to capture the life of Cuba during its revolution. Though the message may seem dated today, visually this film is fascinating. So much of Cuba seems represented in this film: the countryside,the city and the Cubans themselves. Rarely has a Black & White film looked so vivid.
On 35mm!
With camerawork like this coming out of 1964, contemporary filmmakers have no excuses for anything.
[freedom, social stratification]
Intriguing camera movement (save for the endless dutch angles) and transitions juxtaposed with some insufferably hammy characters/situations. Seeing lots of similarity with Emmanuel Lubezki's style.
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