Cuban Blood

Description

Harvey Keitel Daniel Lugo and Gael Garcia Bernal star in this action-packed drama about the sacrifices several Cuban revolutionaries must make in their efforts to stand up for what they believe is right.System Requirements:Running Time 87 Mins.Format: DVD MOVIE Genre: ACTION/ADVENTURE Rating: NR UPC: 821575546850 Manufacturer No: VL-54685The specter of revolution hovers over a small Cuban town in 2003 s Cuban Blood, director Juan Gerard s first (and, to date, only) feature. Veteran and versatile actor Harvey Keitel, whose involvement clearly helped get the picture made, plays the charismatic Che (no, not that Che), a big fish in the small pond that is Holguin, a picturesque spot that s relatively removed from the pro-Castro, anti-Batista rebellion sweeping the country in 1958. But when the rebels knock out the town s electrical power in the opening scene, an outage that lasts a full year, things start to get a little hairy, and Che and his family (including his grandson, clearly a stand-in for Gerard himself) face some major choices and changes. Granted, it s hardly the most original movie ever made. The use of a seemingly crazy homeless man (played by Georg Stanford Brown) as a prophetic Greek chorus is not an uncommon device; and as several critics have noted, echoes of other movies abound, from Cinema Paradiso and Casablanca to Rebel Without a Cause and more. In fact, Cuban Blood was itself formerly known as Dreaming of Julia, a reference to both the film that s playing in the local cinema when the power goes out and to the real name of the enigmatic "La Gringa," the only American in town (actress Iben Hjejle is actually Danish, though you d never know it from her perfect, unaccented English). In the end, the promotional material s claim that it s "a star-studded adventure in the tradition of (Sergio Leone s epic) Once Upon a Time in America" is hyperbolic in the extreme. Nonetheless, this film--sometimes amusing, sometimes dramatic, both heartwarming and sad, sentimental but not overly so--will appeal to viewers of all ages. --Sam Graham