Reviews

a very sweet and enjoyable movie which also manages to survey much of contemporary cuba. all of the characters are endearing though realistic (except adolfo...) and it just leaves you smiling. half sociological study, half cute romance, entirely worth watching. ahi candido!

Although I enjoyed the movie in terms of its acting, direction, and script, I found it incredibly irritating that Islam is presented as an all or nothing faith. There seems to be no "normal" Muslim--only the crazed fundamentalist or someone like Parvez, who seems to have completely rejected his religion. Had there been a few minor characters that could represent the majority of Muslims, I would have been able to enjoy the movie much more without having to feel that the film-makers were simply trying to brainwash the audience into hating all Muslims. Aside from that, however, there were several very powerful scenes (though I felt the scene at the end at the brothel was a bit overdramatic) and the overall style and execution of the film was very effective. I give it an 8 out of 10, but still believe there was ample room for improvement. The motives of the son could have been explored more in depth, but mainly, there needed to be a middle ground to represent the majority of the Muslim faith.

Although the camerawork and credits are almost painfully simple, the play itself and the acting make it an amazing experience. At almost 3 hours long, it at first seems a bit daunting, but when the final line is spoken, you can't help but feel cheated out of just a little bit more. I had to see this because I had just seen Kevin Spacey on Broadway in the Iceman Cometh, and, though that was the more powerful experience, I remain sure that this production was as close to perfect as it could be, considering it was not seen live. That it is not live is a problem, because there are moments that clearly expect an audience reaction, but having a live audience videotaped would have detracted greatly, so I am completely satisfied with this method. All of the actors, with the possible exception of Cathleen, who is by far the most minor character with the least screen time, were perfect, and I would take the time to say my favorites, except that that would comprise of listing every actor in the play/movie. The direction starts off somewhat irritating and looks clearly made-for-TV, but by a few minutes into it, this seems completely irrelevant. The introductory credits are white typed on black with absolutely no sound, which is slightly disconcerting considering there are no previews or anything before the start of the play to hint ahead of time, but during the end credits, the magic of this silence is greatly appreciated. An extremely simple production, with only the one set used on stage, this was infinitely more satisfying and powerful than I ever would have imagined from my video rental guy's comment that I must want to torture myself by watching it all in one night. Looking back, I can't imagine a place where I would have been willing to pause it even long enough to answer the phone. I give it a ten out of ten.

This is one of my all-time favorite movies. Rory Cochrane (one of my all-time favorite actors) and Sean Astin are wonderful. Much like George Hickenlooper's original short film of "Sling Blade," this movie is filled with long emotional pauses and is comprised much more of contemplation than action. Many might find it slow or boring because of this, but I give it a very enthusiastic ten because if you are patient and intelligent enough to sit through the entire thing, you can see the true beauty of it. Touching and emotional with funny moments, too.