Kirpianuscus I love it for its ...flavor. For Lena Olin and Robert Redford. For the clash between romance and politic. For the old image of people in the womb of bad times. And for a Cuba who was so easy lost. And that is all.

jarlentjilenzi This movie is for people who have been in love or like watching movies about love. Though this movie isn't your cliché type of love story (it also contains aspects on the Cuban revolution) the chore of the movie revolves around love.The movie is about a simple man (Jack) who visits Havana because he loves to gamble, to meet the woman (Roberta) that would change his outlook and life forever. She fights for the resistance, against Batista, while he's not into politics at all. She's married with a man (Arturo) that is the head of the resistance in Havana. When Arturo gets kidnapped and is considered killed, Jack and Roberta have the chance to fall in love. But Jack finds out that Arturo is still alive and faces the choice of letting Roberta go or staying quite...This is one of the most real, deep and touching love stories I have seen. It contains beautiful poetic dialogues and the acting is great. A beautiful story about the meaning of love, sacrifice combined with the Cuban revolution.

martin-stanley-1 Despite being panned by most " sophisticated " critics, this is a darned good movie. OK, it may not be Casablanca, but the two stars are interesting, and the story is a good one. Most of the cast is good, especially Menocal, played by Tomas Milian. The coolest part of this movie is the musical score which seems pretty authentic and gives the flick a lot of atmosphere. Even though it was filmed in the Dominican, most viewers would not care. I truly think this movie will rate better opinions "as time goes by" !! How you gonna beat Redford and Olin ?? The last scene in the movie where Redford goes to the beach in Key West and looks wistfully into the glorious sunset thinking of Bobbi, is one of the better endings of recent movies.

MARIO GAUCI To begin with, I had always stayed away from this one until now (watched in tribute to its recently-deceased director) given the fact that it was a notorious flop on original release. Having caught up with it, it’s strange to think that Hollywood was still trying to recapture the magic of CASABLANCA (1942) fifty years on: the title itself, the backdrop of a country in turmoil, a hero who won’t ‘stick his neck out’ until he meets the beautiful wife of a ‘freedom fighter’ (believed dead at some point), the gambling element as a symbol of the fickle nature of destiny, his antagonistic relationship with the chief villain (whom he dupes in the end), etc.A lot depends on the effortless charm of its protagonist (Robert Redford – still looking great at 54), though his character is so laid-back that it’s hard to swallow him being so swiftly and easily a smooth operator with the authorities when required! Lena Olin and Raul Julia play the couple in peril this time around: reportedly, the latter so wanted co-star billing (though his relatively brief role hardly demanded it) that he opted to appear unbilled if his request was declined (which is exactly what happened)!; an overweight but quite effective Tomas Milian (a native of Cuba, incidentally) is the head of the organization rooting out the rebels; also on hand are Alan Arkin as the put-upon casino owner, Richard Farnswoth as “The Professor” and Mark Rydell as the real-life Meyer Lansky.As expected of Pollack, he gives the film a polished feel all round – from Owen Roizman’s diffused lighting to Terence Marsh’s remarkable production design (depicting both the glamor and the seediness of Havana) and Dave Grusin’s plush Oscar-nominated score. Overlong at nearly 2½ hours, the film’s ultimate failure can be pinned down to its essential dullness (lacking in action and being deliberately-paced to boot) – despite a number of undeniably compelling individual sequences.