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Movie Review•
By Shirley Stevens
"Cuba" is an interesting
movie which does not assume
that the viewer has a degree
in history. In fact, the movie is
not so much concerned with
Historical perspective as it is
with the lives of those people
during the early fifties in
Cuba experiencing a revolu
tion.
Alejandro Pulido (Brooke
Adams) is a woman of thirty
who has married into and
become an important figure in
one of Cuba's wealthiest fam
ilies. Her husband, Juan
Pulido (Chris Sarandon), is
the handsome heir to the
Pulido fortune. Their back
grounds are quite different
and their behavior is partly a
function of their upbringing.
Juan Pulido has acquired a
distaste for his father's life
style. Inwardly, if not out
wardly, he prefers the streets
to the villas, the love of a
"Cuba"-a lesson for today
working class woman to that
of his aristocratic wife.
Alejandro, on the other
hand, was an exotic looking
gypsy somewhere in Africa,
at fifteen in love with a
professional soldier, Robert
Davis (Sean Connery). The
intervening years lead her to
seek her fortune in Cuba
where an affair with Senor
Pulido leads to an arranged
marriage to his son and the
management of the tobacco
The settings throughout
the film provide continuous
comment on conditions lead
ing to the revolution. The
relatively few rich and the
vast number of poor have
developed a peaceful coexis
tence. Exploitation goes =-
challenged under military
rule. Nevertheless, conditions
are very volatile due to the
armed demonstrations of the
rebels. It is the poor rather
than the rich who fear revolu
tion. The rich view revolu-
Thursday, March 6, 1980
tionaries as pests and revolu
tions as cyclical and inevita
ble. The poor view themselves
as pawns in the power strug
gle.
Juan and Alejandro, expo
nents of the upper class, and
Julio and his sister, exponents
of the poor working class, are
microcosms of the Cuban pop-
ulation. Each views the cir
cumstances surrounding them
from his own reference point.
Juan has a waning interest in
the transient affairs of state.
knowing that corruption
breeds corruption anyhow.
Julio has come close to death
upon his arrest for terrorist
activities and narrowly es
capes only to resume. his sub
terfuge. Julio's revolutionary
spirit is energised by the
possibility that his captured
father may have been killed
by the military. Alejandro
adamantly turns the wheels of
the tobacco fortune. Her only
involvement with any revolu-
tion is her immediate concern
for keeping the workers from
striking. Juan's mistress
(Julio's sister) is concerned
for her father's saftey, but she
has no qualms about loving a
member of the oppressive
class. It is someone else's war.
Amidst a profoundly turbu
lent transition, it is largely
business as usual. Corruption
has spread down through the
ranks from government to
society to the dismay of
American opportunists trying
to pick over Cuban industry
before the government col
lapses.
When the government re
alizes that it cannot quash the
rebel forces on its own. it
hires the services of a private
soldier. Alejandro's former
lover Robert Davis. Robert's
and Alejandro's encounter in
Cuba leads to acontinuation of
their romance, and Robert
wrongfully concludes that
Alejandro will follow him out
C.C. Reader
of a crumbling Cuba.
Alejandro, however, has ap
parently strong ties to Juan,
to her work and to Cuba, and
she reluctantly watches him
board the evacuation aircraft
alone. During his departure,
Julio's bullet finds its way into
Juan Pulido's chest.
The usefulness of a movie
which recreates an historical
event seems especially appar
ent during an ongoing crisis
like the one in Iran. We are
reminded not only of the
necessity of early assessment
and intervention in an insur
gency, but also of the neces
sity for understanding the
oppression and frustration
that are the bases for such
insurgenties.
Sean Connery displays
everlasting British subtlety
and style. The film easily
rests on a sound script, topical
subject matter and interest
ing characters.