Guantanamera
Directed by Tomas Gutierrez Alea and Juan Carlos Tabio
With Mirtha Ibarra and Jorge Perugorria
Opens Lumiere Cinema Melbourne, October 10
Reviewed by Natasha Izatt

Guantanamera ... Guajira
Guantanamera
Guantanamera ... Guajira
Guantanamera

At the beginning of this film, we were advised to get another song into our heads. Otherwise we would be singing José Antonia Rodriquez's song for ages. But I had been singing the first word for several days and, having learnt the second, I had no intention of stopping. The lyrics complement the unfolding story.

The story is centred on an unusual funeral cortege and a truck following the same route from Guantánamo city (not the infamous US naval base) to Havana. The mourners -- civil servant Adolfo (Carlos Cruz), his wife Gina (Mirtha Ibarra) and Candido (Raul Egura), who had been in love with the dead woman -- are trying Adolfo's new plan for the transfer of dead bodies across the country by relay. The truck driver, Mariano (Jorge Perugorria), an inveterate seducer, and Ramon (Pedro Fernandez), his driving partner, follow their usual freight route.

The cortege changes cars at every province along the way. The truck stops similarly to change freight, and for its occupants to sow a few wild oats. A chance meeting turns into a continuous encounter when Mariano and Gina recognise each other. Gina had been Marianos university economics professor, and his impossible love. The funeral procession's meetings with the truck create an endless number of hilarious situations.

This film caters to all tastes, except perhaps fans of gratuitous violence. Guantanamera is a beautifully sweet road movie with comedy, romance and politics thrown in. The sweeping Cuban landscapes made me itch to travel, if not move, to the breathtaking country. The well-done character portrayals appeal. Mirtha Ibarra and Jorge Perugorria (both remembered from Strawberry and Chocolate) won over this heart.

Politics adds greatly to the film. The US blockade's effects on Cuban lifestyles were highlighted. The film also takes up issues of bureaucracy, censorship in educational institutions and the effects on the older generation of their children defecting to Miami. As in Strawberry and Chocolate, directors Alea and Tabio make valid criticisms of Cuban politics while supporting for the revolution and communist society. Cuba si!

This article was posted on the Green Left Weekly Home Page.
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