Don't Believe the Hype

Clever, believable, and super fun to watch. It totally has replay value.

It really made me laugh, but for some moments I was tearing up because I could relate so much.

The tone of this movie is interesting -- the stakes are both dramatic and high, but it's balanced with a lot of fun, tongue and cheek dialogue.

Simple story of a two runaway kids, raising lot of questions about Cuban society and it's system. It has an underline story line which contradictory to the film title Viva Cuba (Long live Cuba). Through out the film we see the patriotism and quotes like "Viva Che", "Viva Cuba" being thought to the kids like a religion, yet the distance and loosing their dreams in the system. In capitalism parents run "the race" distancing them from their kids and family. The same happens in Socialism where the parents prioritizing their duty to the country before their family. In both the situations it collapses the basic building block of the society. It is an open ending but leaves us thinking can a system make the life better. Can it answer the basic problems of life, or no matter what life will always find a way to make it miserable.

As Jorgito(Jorge Milo) and Malu(Malu Tarrau Broche) sit on a rooftop and contemplate the young girl's impending departure from Cuba, the camera moves. One-hundred-eighty degrees later, the camera rests on the backs of their heads. We're looking with them, from their point-of-view, towards an uncertain future(for Malu, a faraway land across the ocean); not at them, in which we laugh condescendingly about the melodramatic proclamations that young people make about being inseparable. They'll survive the break-up. We know that. Some of us went through the same ordeal ourselves at that tender age. The camera moves as a way of representing the past and the future. But after the tears stop flowing, with the camera at repose, Malu's head turns towards Jorgito and asks him to run away with her. This gesture, this hatched plan of Malu's, places them in the present. Right here, right now, these close friends decide that they won't be split up without a fight.No matter how hard the school and the children's parents try to instill their political views upon Jorgito and Malu, politics never comes close to tearing them apart. This is best exemplified when the movie irises in on the boy and girl as they walk home from school, taking them out of context, out of Cuba, and into a world where only they exist; a world in which they are equals. As actual denizens of Cuba, however, Jorgito and Malu aren't equals(the boy is proletarian; the girl is bourgeoisie). "Viva Cuba" demonstrates this Havana reality at the outset when Jorgito is on his knees while Malu towers over him. But then Jorgito stands up so he's facing his friend, but still, in spite of the children's apolitical relationship, Malu remains taller(a reminder of their economical disparity). Malu wants to be the Queen of Spain, an absolute monarch, but because the girl comes off as disarmingly sweet and unpretentious, you give her the benefit of the doubt. She's just bossy; not a demagogue. "Viva Cuba" is a terrific rite-of-passage film that beautifully captures a passionate friendship of platonic love between opposite sexes which could only exist without the base culture of the west hastening their advancement towards a pre-pubescent sexual attraction. CGI effects service the genre of magic realism, not science-fiction this time, and the results are breathtaking. But "Viva Cuba" would be nothing without its outstanding performances by Jorge Milo and Malu Tarrau Broche, who in the best tradition of neo-realism, are natural and never less-than-real.

I liked this film a lot. It is an easy-going, friendly creation -- not a lot of drama and nothing fearful or anxiety-producing, just a sweet story, which is great as far as I'm concerned. I think anyone would appreciate its genuine humanity. In particular, I loved its ingenuity -- this film is very different from standard Hollywood fare. The opening credits are extremely clever and the magical realism of Latin America was nicely evident. I thought some of the slapstick humor was a little too sophomoric, but there were also some extremely funny moments. The political overtones were occasionally heavy-handed, but the chance for an inside look at the Cuban people makes this film worth the price of admission. The two main actors were children and amazingly good. The filming of the Cuban countryside was first-rate. It is a gorgeous country. There were also a couple of very easy-on-the-eyes guys. (If you see this film, you'll know who I'm talking about!)

Malú and Jorgito fight every now and then but are in love.Only their families don't see it that way. Her mother is a devout Catholic with strict ideas of who she should associate with. His family are card-carrying communists with a deep sense of party loyalty. Both families are too absorbed in their own problems and hatred for each other to take much notice of the children.After Malu's grandmother dies Malu's mother decides to leave Cuba and join her boyfriend overseas.When Malú finds out that her mother is about to take her away, she escapes with Jorgito armed with the savings from her piggy bank. Their search for Malú's father who can help her stay in Cuba begins.Their journey involves a long journey across Cuba with many adventures along the way. As their families search for them , the two realize that life on the run is not all they thought it would be and a kind of homesickness begins to set in. Viva Cuba is a quirky coming-of-age road movie.