The Cuba it depicts may be an imagined one, but it's one we're continuing to imagine today. It begins on a rooftop deck of a luxury hotel in pre-Castro Havana. It is one of the most visually hypnotic films ever -- and that's not hyperbole. The camera sinuously winds its way past bathing beauties, and then moves over the edge of the deck and descends vertically, apparently floating, down three or four stories to another deck, this one with a swimming pool. The Cuba it depicts may be an imagined one, but it's one we're continuing to imagine today. Many of the characters are stereotypes, but they are still sympathetic and real. Their deluxe I Am Cuba: The Ultimate Edition sports an excellent flat B&W encoding. “The film fails to convince in its propaganda, but as a goofy view of a new Cuba it is heartily appreciated.” Reviewed by Dennis Schwartz Russian director Mikheil Kalatozishvili (“Cranes Are Flying,” 1957) provides in “I Am Cuba” a Soviet-Cuban tribute to the victors of the revolution against the Batista regime, which turns out to be a ringing endorsement for the Cuban masses. The anti- American content is handled in a nightclub scene, where gum-chewing Yankees ogle the prostitutes, and one amateur anthropologist announces, "I'd like to see where these women live." By creating an account, you agree to the Privacy Policy The film is not done with Americans. The film is immensely entertaining and occasionally inspiring, a delirious combination of Slavic solemnity, Latin exoticism, Communist idealism and breathtakingly beautiful images. Comments; Shares. Find helpful customer reviews and review ratings for I Am Cuba at Amazon.com. I Am Cuba (Spanish: Soy Cuba; Russian: Я Куба, Ya Kuba) is a 1964 portmanteau drama film directed by Mikhail Kalatozov at Mosfilm.An international co-production between the Soviet Union and Cuba, it was not received well by either the Russian or Cuban public and was almost completely forgotten until it was re-discovered by filmmakers in the United States thirty years later. "I Am Cuba" is an anti-American propaganda film, made as a Cuban-Soviet co-production, that has been snatched from oblivion, restored, and released in the United States as a presentation of Martin Scorsese and Francis Coppola. Finally, there is the appearance of a great revolutionary hero, a bearded man of the people who fights in the hills, is sheltered by peasants and represents Fidel Castro. TIMES STAFF WRITER. If you see it, try to figure out how the camera floated down that wall. Sidney Poitier’s 7 Most Memorable Performances, All Harry Potter Movies Ranked Worst to Best by Tomatometer. Forty-five years ago, director Mikhail Kalatozov was commissioned by the Soviet government to make a … I Am Cuba: The Ultimate Edition New Yorker Video/Milestone Cinematheque, $44.95. Read honest and unbiased product reviews from our users. Being suppressed by those who wanted [I Am Cuba] made in the first place is a vindication of sorts. I AM CUBA was not shown outside Cuba and the Soviet Union until the 1992 Telluride Film Festival, where it was screened--without English titles--as part of a special tribute to Mikhail Kalatozov. From the swaying palm trees in the beginning credits to the final victory march, the temperament of the revolution in I Am Cuba is uniformly passionate and determined. Newly Restored in 4K by Milestone! There is a shot near the beginning of "I Am Cuba" that is one of the most astonishing I have ever seen. Mikhail Kalatozov’s Soy Cuba (I Am Cuba) is an often astonishing technical achievement that transcends its somewhat didactic origins and perhaps deserves a more prominent place in the history of cinema. Please enter your email address and we will email you a new password. It was directed by the veteran Russian filmmaker Mikhail Kalatozov, then 61, whose "The Cranes are Flying" (1957) had won the Palme d'Or at Cannes a few years earlier. Mere propaganda only reinforces the status quo. The drinking song of bullying US sailors has a strange modern resonance: "The gals here in … Sign up here. The storyline is much more sophisticated and innovative than has been given credit. The recent 4K restoration by Milestone Film & Video is a revelation, nothing less than a singular, definitive cinematic experience. I Am Cuba is a propaganda piece, and it shows, but it transcends that and becomes genuine cinematic art with strong humanism by its poetic storytelling. 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