Sunday, August 27, 2006

The Lost City - A film on Cuba

This Hollywood film is a kind of autobiographical film of Andy Garcia, who is the hero, producer and director.

In real life, Garcia was born in Cuba, emigrated to USA after the Bay of Pigs and started off life as dishwasher. That is what happens in the film also.

Fico ( Garcia) is the owner of the "Tropical" night club in Havana. One of his brothers join the conspiracy against Batista dictatorship and gets killed by the regime. The other brother joins the revolutionary group of Fidel Castro but after Fidel comes to power, gets disillusioned and commits suicide. The parents of Fico, who did not take the revolution seriously in the beginning, decide to stay put after the revolution but insist that Fico should get out of Cuba and go to USA. Fico falls in love with his sister-in-law after the death of his brother but she refuses to go with him to USA, dedicating herself to the cause of the revolution. This is the real life story of thousands of Cubans.

With the end of the Fidel Castro era nearing, the the film evokes a nostalgic and romantic part of the revolution while at the same time bringing out the other realities of the revolution impacting on the life of cubans. Which way will Cuba go after Castro? Will it implode like the Soviet union or open up gradually like Vietnam and China?

The film is enriched by the exuberant Cuban music and dance.

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