Friday, June 16, 2006
Friday Movie Review
Went to see Andy Garcia's The Lost City with Sheila at the Chez Artiste (in the little theatre). The movie was long and sad; the story was sad and all the love affairs star-crossed, and it was full of family goodbyes and goodbye to all that and, well, loss. But the music was terrific. (Andy Garcia wrote it, said the movie credits, but not IMDB). There's just something about Cuban music and this film had all the kinds there are (or were).
I think that telling the story of the beginning of the long, recent agony of Castro as a family saga was a sound move. Showing Ernesto Guevarra, as he really was, was a brilliant idea. All the plot tricks worked (with the possible exception of the extremely unfunny Bill Murray--who was more licensed fool than stand-up comedian as he twice described himself), except for sure Dustin Hoffman as Meyer Lansky--that was just stupid.
Sheila was bawling away as the lovers split and the family split. It was sad.
Here's the strange part. It was written by G. Cabrera Infante, whose only other film was the weirdly satisfying Vanishing Point from way back in 1971. Mr. Infante was born in Cuba in 1929 (which would have made him about Garcia's character's age in 1958, when most of the action takes place, although Garcia himself is 50)) and he died last year in London.
Garcia's acting career may have cooled a little (he's stuck playing the heavy in the soon to be interminable Ocean's increasing number series). I liked him a lot in Black Rain. He may not be a great actor (although certainly not bad) nor a great director (though, again, not bad) but if he really did write the music for the film, man, what a composer. I think I mentioned that the music in the film was terrific.
It's 2 hours 23 minutes long and drags now and again. There is some violence (pretty stylized) the most shocking of which is from newsreel footage of executions and romance but no sex and you don't get to see any of the pretty women in it naked, more's the pity--especially Aurora played by Ines Sastre. What a dish.
Overall grade: B- which is not bad for a first major effort.
I think that telling the story of the beginning of the long, recent agony of Castro as a family saga was a sound move. Showing Ernesto Guevarra, as he really was, was a brilliant idea. All the plot tricks worked (with the possible exception of the extremely unfunny Bill Murray--who was more licensed fool than stand-up comedian as he twice described himself), except for sure Dustin Hoffman as Meyer Lansky--that was just stupid.
Sheila was bawling away as the lovers split and the family split. It was sad.
Here's the strange part. It was written by G. Cabrera Infante, whose only other film was the weirdly satisfying Vanishing Point from way back in 1971. Mr. Infante was born in Cuba in 1929 (which would have made him about Garcia's character's age in 1958, when most of the action takes place, although Garcia himself is 50)) and he died last year in London.
Garcia's acting career may have cooled a little (he's stuck playing the heavy in the soon to be interminable Ocean's increasing number series). I liked him a lot in Black Rain. He may not be a great actor (although certainly not bad) nor a great director (though, again, not bad) but if he really did write the music for the film, man, what a composer. I think I mentioned that the music in the film was terrific.
It's 2 hours 23 minutes long and drags now and again. There is some violence (pretty stylized) the most shocking of which is from newsreel footage of executions and romance but no sex and you don't get to see any of the pretty women in it naked, more's the pity--especially Aurora played by Ines Sastre. What a dish.
Overall grade: B- which is not bad for a first major effort.
# posted by Roger Fraley @ 11:54 PM 
