1. AmyB.

   10

   Mr Garcia i loved this movie, What a moving love story. I love Cuban food, music,culture and you really captured it all . I have been to Cuba, its sad what happened their.… Expand

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2. ManoloE.

   8

   I thoroughly enjoyed the movie, with two exceptons that I will elaborate on later. The music and cinematography in the movie was extraordinary, as well as the sets used in the making of the movie. The sets and costumes lend to the feel of the movie, just as the Casablanca set and costumes did for that movie; it transports you to that place and time. Now to the two exceptions that keep me from giving the movie a higher score: I understand that the writer included Bill Murray's character as a sort of subconscious of the writer and as a way to keep those not interested in the storyline from walking out of the theatres. Truth be told, the Murray character actually detracts from the real story and the seriousness of the same. The second issue deals with the portrayal of President Batista as a sort of comical figure (combing his eyebrows with a comb and spit, making comical remarks to his butler, etc.). Anyone who has read about Fulgencio Batista will tell you that he was far from being that way; if anything, he was at the other end of the spectrum; he was a former military leader who really had little time for distractions or joking around. My take on this portrayal of Batista, is that this was Andy Garcia's way of trying to convince the audience that he is not an opologist for Batista or what he represents. Whatever the reason, this detracts from the movie. At some point, Garcia needed to decide if he wanted to make a serious social movie with a historical background, a comedy or a love story. At times you can combine two of those categories, not all three. My mother's family in pre-Castro Cuba were basically rural farmers whom made a humble living from the crops they harvested, and they were happy living that way. My father 's family were middle class, and they lived a good tranquil life, just like Americans did in 1959 (except for the occasional bomb being set on busses, theatres and other p[laces by Fidel's militia). Having said that, I can tell you without hesitation, that the Cuban revolution had very little to do with the poor and any struggles they might have had, and unlike the newspaper accounts of the ultraliberal New York Times of that era, Fidel and his henchman were far from being "Robin Hoods" ("Robbing Hoods" is more like it). The Cuban revolution was financed by the rich and upper-middle class, whom felt that the U.S. had too many interests in Cuba at the time, and they felt they were being left behind. As was pointed out in a previous post, if you analyze who made up Fidel's cabinet after the revolution, they were members of the upper and upper-middle class (Doctors, accountants, politicians, etc.). What the revolution ultimately accomplished was to push the U.S. out of Cuba, in favor of the Soviet Union. The protagonists of the revolution (Fidel & company) did nothing else but turn Cuba into a socialist nation in which there would only be one class of people, wherein no one had anything (the exception were a privileged few, made up of Fidel's immediate group). Land, businesses and properties were taken from their rightful owners and given to those who were responsible for the overthrow of the government, every block had a "snitch" to report any type of activity that might go against the revolutionary government and family members turned on each other as portrayed in the movie. What I liked the most about the movie is that it portrays people as they were, "Che" Guevara as a ruthless assassin, not the romanticized freedom fighter he has been erroneously portrayed as in other movies , such as the Motorcycle Diaries. Andy Garcia balances things out and remains factual with history, as evidenced by his portrayal of two members of Batista's secret police who were ruthless in their own right. This is a balanced account of reality as it was during and after the revolution! It's a shame that the movie critics did not study the history of the Cuban revolution prior to writing their reviews of the film; had they done so, they may have rated the movie differently. I highly recommend you see this movie!… Expand

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3. A.M.

   6

   I liked the story and the cinematography. The acting? Overall pretty good, although Bill Murray's character should have been axed, inappropiate and not funny. Dustin Hoffman's was too short and didn't add too much to the story. It was a little slow at times and could have been shortened. Ines Sastre was surprisingly good for a model... It just lacked something, can't put my finger on it. Directing maybe? It just didn't flow.… Expand

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4. JimG.

   4

   Smarmy fat-cat pitty party. Who cares about these characters?
   [***SPOILERS***] Wealthy playboy has his club taken away. Then, rather than staying to fight for a principle (he doesn't have one as far as we can tell other than be rich and party) goes to New York to rebulid. Just more propaganda (note tall he political rants that accompany this flick). Would have had at least a scintillla of respect for him if he had stayed and fighted to keep Cuba free for the capitalists like his rotund, cigar-chomping tio for whom we should supposedly feel sorry. Andy Garcia is looking pudgy and seeing his manicured fingernails (after he presumably has been washing dishes for weeks) says a lot.… Expand

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