Buena Vista Social Club

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Buena Vista Social Club

G

Released Jun 4, 1999

1h 41m

Documentary

Music

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Popcornmeter

92%

Tomatometer

48 Reviews

89%

Popcornmeter

5,000+ Ratings

This documentary by lauded German filmmaker Wim Wenders follows renowned guitarist Ry Cooder and his son, Joachim, as they travel to Cuba and assemble a group of the country's finest musicians to record an album. Among the artists included in the project are singer Ibrahim Ferrer and pianist Rubén González, who are both interviewed and featured in studio footage. Eventually the ensemble travels to the United States to perform in front of rapt audiences.

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Critics Consensus

A hopeful gesture of cultural outreach set to an irresistible soundtrack, Buena Vista Social Club is an enriching and zesty experience.

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Owen Gleiberman

Entertainment Weekly

Rated: B-

Sep 7, 2011

Full Review

Peter Stack

San Francisco Chronicle

Rated: 4/4

Jun 18, 2002

Full Review

Globe and Mail

Rated: 3.5/4

Mar 19, 2002

Full Review

Nicholas Bell

IONCINEMA.com

An impressionistic glance at Cuba's vibrant cultural heritage, Wim Wenders' Buena Vista Social Club is an often times intriguing portrait of notable musicians and their craft.

Rated: 3/5

Sep 12, 2020

Full Review

Richard Propes

TheIndependentCritic.com

It is nearly impossible to watch this documentary without being moved.

Rated: 3.5/4.0

Sep 4, 2020

Full Review

Landon Palmer

Nonfics (Substack)

Buena Vista Social Club resonates almost like a diplomatic effort that helped set the stage for a post-revolutionary relationship to Cuba, a rare meeting between neighbors after decades of distance.

May 9, 2017

Full Review

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Irene Z

unfortunately I missed tonight's show! for some reason I missed the date - I first saw the ad that said "Tuesday August 24" which was perfect for us. I never even looked at the date after that! I feel horrible that We missed it. I have their CD from long ago - before we visited Cuba1 Can I get a refund for my 2 tickets

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

08/23/23

Full Review

Mason M

The music is phenomenal, and the story is great, but this film is too badly made for me to really enjoy it. It takes way to long introducing characters and only gets into the plot in the last 20 minutes. It's just very bad at telling a good story.

Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars

09/15/24

Full Review

Dave S

In the Wim Wenders documentary Buena Vista Social Club, American guitar virtuoso Ry Cooder travels to Havana with the intent of gathering Cuba’s most renowned musicians, most of them elderly and many of them forgotten, to create an album to showcase the country’s rich cultural heritage. Interspersed with live concert footage from Amsterdam and New York, the musicians briefly tell their life stories, most of which are remarkably inspiring, emphasizing the fact that they play for the love of their art, not for fame or fortune. Granted, those who don’t enjoy Cuban music may find the concert footage tedious at times, but the interviews and the glimpses into Cuban culture are consistently compelling.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

04/21/24

Full Review

Harrison R

Haven't seen it in 20 years but it was good and the music is great

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

08/22/23

Full Review

Thomas M

The best documentary movie ever made!

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

11/25/22

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dustin d

The Buena Vista Social Club is a charming musical documentary with great music and little slices of life from Cuba.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

03/31/23

Full Review

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Wim Wenders

Director

Luis Barzaga

Self

Joachim Cooder

Self

Ry Cooder

Self

Julio Alberto Fernández

Self

Ibrahim Ferrer

Self

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Synopsis

This documentary by lauded German filmmaker Wim Wenders follows renowned guitarist Ry Cooder and his son, Joachim, as they travel to Cuba and assemble a group of the country's finest musicians to record an album. Among the artists included in the project are singer Ibrahim Ferrer and pianist Rubén González, who are both interviewed and featured in studio footage. Eventually the ensemble travels to the United States to perform in front of rapt audiences.

Director: Wim Wenders
Producer: Ulrich Felsberg, Deepak Nayar
Screenwriter: Wim Wenders
Distributor: Artisan Entertainment
Production Co: Kintop Pictures, Road Movies Filmproduktion [de]
Rating: G
Genre: Documentary, Music
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Jun 4, 1999, Wide
Release Date (Streaming): Apr 18, 2017
Box Office (Gross USA): $7.0M
Runtime: 1h 41m
Sound Mix: Dolby SR, Dolby Digital, Dolby A, Surround

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