A complex film both politically and psychologically. A bourgeois man decides to stay in post- revolutionary Cuba, even when his wife and family leave. He's detached and alienated from the revolution around him, from women, but also from his shallow, old materialistic existence.
The film uses lots of brave, experimental and sophisticated visual techniques (sudden cuts to still photos, super long lens shots, hand-held shots, intercutting news footage with staged), but almost all of it works towards making a fascinating whole. My only problem is that -- for me - - the experience is almost totally an intellectual one. I had very little emotional response during most of the film, although the last section, with the Cuban Missile Crisis looming has some real power.
Note that most critics I respect see this as a flat out masterpiece, so I could have missed something, and would be willing to give it a second look.
The film uses lots of brave, experimental and sophisticated visual techniques (sudden cuts to still photos, super long lens shots, hand-held shots, intercutting news footage with staged), but almost all of it works towards making a fascinating whole. My only problem is that -- for me - - the experience is almost totally an intellectual one. I had very little emotional response during most of the film, although the last section, with the Cuban Missile Crisis looming has some real power.
Note that most critics I respect see this as a flat out masterpiece, so I could have missed something, and would be willing to give it a second look.