Memories of Underdevelopment

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Valquria G Incrível!!!!! 🤩🤩🤩 Rated 5/5 Stars •  Rated 5 out of 5 stars 11/25/23 Full Review Audience Member A first watch of the film will make the questions and after the second one the film trascends every film edition and you'll have the answers. The voice-over, the nihilism of the main character and the ambiguity of the end build "The Taxi Driver of Cuban Cinema". 8/10 Rated 4/5 Stars •  Rated 4 out of 5 stars 02/22/23 Full Review William L A chronicle of an unusual revolution, one that was perhaps not as comprehensive, sweeping, and hotheaded as others, where a slower pace allowed many to simply leave rather than face violent retribution, and for those who remained to ponder ideology rather than survival. Rather than using simple characters to shift focus and significance to the greater social context alone, Alea introduces an in-depth character study and interlaces it with the revolutionary spirit around him as contrast; Corrieri's Sergio is at once somewhat ideologically aligned with the revolution (or so he claims), but is also a target of it as a well-to-do property owner. The film sees his intellectual and pseudo-intellectual tendencies clash against a jaded personality and moral ambiguity in an environment of change. Sergio is a character whose worldview gradually falls apart by social movements, but who rationalizes such change in a philosopical context that absolves himself of blame or responsibility, continuing to judge those around him while ignoring his own negative influences. The narration is considered exceedingly unreliable, intended to present a moment in history as it would be understood in the moment and recalled later; that is, subjectively. (4/5) Rated 4/5 Stars •  Rated 4 out of 5 stars 07/28/21 Full Review s r 1001 movies to see before you die. A thoughtful part documentary, part film showing life in Cuba after the Bay of Pigs. It's about individual freedom in a state run system. It was on YouTube. Rated 3/5 Stars •  Rated 3 out of 5 stars 03/31/23 Full Review Audience Member I don't know whether it was the movie or just me lacking energy, but I was honestly dozing off during some parts of this film, so I do not retain all the information within the film. What I do remember is that this film didn't really know whether it was trying to be more of a narrative film or more of a documentary, making it somewhat of a mess. What I do retain is the story following Sergio and his lust for women. His story starts an unhappy one, having lost family in the Bay of Pigs incident. Ever since, he is trying to find meaning in his life, or excitement - this excitement he strives for leads him down a path of pedophilia (though I'm not sure how well this is portrayed with an actress who looks 25 and is supposed to play 17). He meets this girl, Elena, on the street one day and seduces her after being persistent. Most of the story then revolves around a scene where it is unclear whether Sergio rapes her or not. The girl takes his advances as a joke while Sergio is very serious, and afterwards we hear Sergio telling her to "stop crying." Ultimately Sergio is off the hook (even though she was a 17-year-old girl) since it cannot be proved that she was under the influence of drugs or alcohol or that she did not consent. This is a little unsettling, and overall this movie does not teach us much about Cuba with the documentary aspect of the film. We are left with a very ambiguous reflection on human nature. Rated 2.5/5 Stars •  Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars 02/01/23 Full Review Audience Member An interesting time capsule of the era, Alea's weird little snapshot of early Castro Cuba is a distinct, if sometimes preachy, film. It deftly criticizes both sides of the conflict via its bourgeois main character, mixing in newsreel footage to add a proper grounding, even to newer audiences. Rated 3.5/5 Stars •  Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 02/01/23 Full Review Read all reviews

Memories of Underdevelopment

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