Havanna Blues
Benito Zambrano:
Habana Blues (Cuba / Spain / France, 2005)
115 min. – Spanish – Finnish subtitles.
Distribution: Cinema Mondo.
Age limit 11+
The music of Cuba is not only salsa and habanera. It is also punk, metal, reggae, ska and hip-hop. The youth lives apart from the revolution and their uniforms are dreadlocks, boots, chains, leather jackets and band t-shirts. Welcome to the wild streets of Havanna.
Habana Blues tells a story of two young musicians, Ryu and Tito. Their music is an interesting mix of pop, rock and more traditional Cuban music. Boys dream about success outside the island. Opportunity knocks the door when Spanish record company comes to Cuba searching for new talents. Their producers notice boy’s band and offer a record deal. This project is funded from Miami and their interests are more political than musical. They want band with a message that is against the Castro regime. Ryu and Tito face a difficult situation. Passion for music and artistic values or dubious record deal and ticket out from Cuba?
Director Benito Zambrano studied in the legendary Cuban school of Cinema, San Antonio de los Banos. He did over 50 interviews with local bands to choose the music numbers for the movie. And it really paid off. Music numbers are very interesting and absolutely best part of the movie. Habana Blues is not pointing straight against Castro regime. Or on the other hand against the politics of United States. It shows the good and the bad sides of both and connects the politics into everyday life. Everybody have to choose according to own values and then live with the consequences.
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Benito Zambrano
Benito Zambrano (1964) was born in Andalucia, Spain in a city called Lebrija. Film education he got from Cuba. Zambrano has written and directed several short films, tv series called Padre Coraje and two feature films. Debut film Solas has won many awards for it's screenplay, direction and acting.
Filmography:
Habana Blues (2005)
"Padre coraje" (2002) TV mini-series
Solas (1999)
El Encanto de la Luna Ilena (1994)