• Submitted by: manso
• Editorial Articles
• 12 / 12 / 2010

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By Rolando Perez Betancourt. Lester Hamlet wants and doesn’t want theater resources in his Casa vieja, a revitalization in line with present times of the classic of the 1960’s by Cuban playwright Abelardo Estorino, La casa vieja. Calling our attention is this aesthetic pendulum in the full knowledge of an artist that has matured a large amount of works in the field of video clips, which made people think that perhaps his first fiction film would emerge from that production.

There’s cinema and there’s theater in this story about the secrets, joys and upsetting experiences of a family throughout the years and with a social fabric that determines conducts and positions. It’s evident that the producer tries to be absolutely convincing from the realism of situations and characters by drawing a climate of conflicts that is quite known -because other filmmakers have dealt with it- which makes the challenge of the novel more difficult and even the unexpected, inherent to any work of art.

Then it’s a concentration on drama, without having visualization play a decisive card, beyond the rigorous close-ups and the omnipresence of the sea as yet another character.

Seen as a whole, this Casa vieja is an evident attempt of re-adaptation, with performances that are convincing and well assimilated local customs in the interests of lightening emotions. Seen in detail, it’s at times a little discursive (even though in this aspect with an emphasis on theater) and, what constitutes the substance -the drama connected to the main character, Esteban (who has returned from Spain after living there for 12 years)- finally doesn’t’ catch on.

A transition as important as the explosion and escape of Esteban from the funeral parlor is articulated in a somewhat unnatural way, because there are no accumulated emotions justifying it.

Also debatable is the dramatic support towards the end of the movie taking as a starting point Esteban’s protests about the fact that at his father’s burial people talk only about the exemplary nature of the man instead of making a balanced look at his virtues and defects, and in this regard we should ask ourselves in what funeral speech people say what the main character wants. This, instead of giving significance to the family conflict (with social implications) of accepting differences of opinions, conducts and even sexual preferences, detracts strength from the credibility of the story line, because, after all, it’s evident that the deceased was what is described as "a good guy".

Casa vieja, divided into acts, has values, but its lack of definitions in the script doesn’t allow the film to round off its good purposes of falling within a topical subject in a convenient way.

On the occasion of celebrations for another anniversary of the Mexican Revolution, Felipe Cazals, a long time well-known producer, directs Chicogrande, aesthetics of westerns to tell a story based on real events and that once again involves Pancho Villa, this time persecuted by a strict US officer that turns to torture to try to find the leader’s whereabouts.

It’s a film of strong nationalist flavor but hesitant in its narrative tone and with unnecessary underlining, especially verbal, to show the decisive role played by the Mexican people in that heroic deed.

Cómo olvidar, by Brazilian Malú de Martino and with well-known Ana Paulo Arosio in the leading role, is an intimist drama about a university professor going through torment after being left by her girlfriend.

It’s a descent to the hells of solitude and possible resurrection in an open ended movie that speaks elegantly about sexual choice among women, in a perhaps too long a length.

Source: Cubarte


And impressions about the film: Film Festival Breaking News: CASA VIEJA Most Popular Film

Date: Dec 11, 2010.Not surprisingly (to me, anyway) La Casa Vieja won the prize for most popular film (based on votes cast on little slips of paper by filmgoers at all the theatres where Festival Films are being shown). As I've mentioned, I'm not a film critic; I'm not writing about all or even a significant number of the films in this Festival (I wouldn't be qualified to do so even if I had the time). I write about Cuba and the world from a Cuban perspective, and from the moment I saw it I was sure this was one of the most significant Cuban films in this Festival.

Another, equally important although less universal, is the film version of an extremely important book of memoirs of the early AIDS years in Cuba by Cuba's AIDS guru Dr. Jorge Perez (soon to be published in English by University of California Berkeley Press). The film by Cuba's excellent and well-know director Gerardo Chijona (Paradise Under the Stars, Adorables Mentiras, Kid Chocolate among others) is called "Ticket to Paradise".

But this is no real paradise -- he is talking about a group of self-defined "freakies" or "freekies" whose wanton life-style and intentional self-injection of the HIV virus was to lead them to what they hoped would be an easy, pleasant life together in one of Cuba's AIDS sanaotriums. It was only after the deed was done and they began living with its after effects, including the fact that some were dead or dying --that some of the young people came to understand the full
implications of what they'd done to themselves.

Hopefully in the next week or so I'll find some time to write some notes on more of the films, including some from other countries I do know something about,such as Chile....

Source:http://groups.yahoo.com/group/CubaNews/message/119473