The Cuban

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The Cuban

Released Jul 31, 2020

1h 49m

Drama

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Popcornmeter

74%

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19 Reviews

58%

Popcornmeter

Fewer than 50 Ratings

When a naive pre-med student gets her first job at a nursing home, an unexpected friendship with Luis, an elderly Cuban musician, reignites her love of music and changes her life forever.

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Monica Castillo

RogerEbert.com

Aside from a few technical quibbles, The Cuban is a fairly pleasant cross-generational, cross-cultural drama.

Rated: 2.5/4

Jul 31, 2020

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Jessica Kiang

Variety

A pleasant, plangent hybrid of culture-clash drama, odd-couple formula and late-life Bucket List bromide.

Jul 30, 2020

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Glenn Kenny

New York Times

This genial, well-intentioned movie never quite lands a real emotional punch.

Jul 30, 2020

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Cody Dericks

Next Best Picture

“The Cuban” is ultimately worth watching for its visuals and two veteran supporting performances. It's therefore disappointing that the story that surrounds these laudatory aspects is less memorable.

Rated: 5/10

Jul 5, 2022

Full Review

Richard Crouse

Richard Crouse

As a story of the curative power of music, it works, has a good beat and you can dance to it.

Rated: 3.5/5

Mar 4, 2021

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Pat Mullen

That Shelf

Buoyed by Latin rhythms and the spicy flavours of Cuban cuisine, The Cuban plays a familiar tune. However, its odd couple tale about embracing life through its last days is often sweetly endearing.

Nov 5, 2020

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Audience Member

Great music, and strong moving performances. Really liked how the music was an integral part of the story, almost like another character.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

02/10/23

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Audience Member

This poignant film so eloquently represents the internal struggle we all face when making decisions that balance rules and regulations with human emotion. Too often policy and procedures are ranked ahead of basic human decency, and The Cuban gives pause to reflect on the importance of relationships and friendships, while shining a light on Alzheimer's Disease. This beautiful movie resonated with me for a lot of reasons, and I found Golja's interpretation of "Mina" to be incredible authentic and relatable. Well done.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

01/13/23

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Audience Member

Excellent movie. Love it.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

02/24/23

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Audience Member

Really enjoyed the flashbacks scenes of the Cuban culture and music

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

02/27/23

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Audience Member

I really wanted to love this film, but after shelling out $4.99 on Prime to see it, my take is that this film is full of IDEAS about Cuba and Cubans through the lens of an American writer and a Canadian/Italian director. The flashbacks are impressive flashy caricatures, but lack authenticity. Unfortunately so are many of the present-day characters. This film strives to manipulate emotions, which sometimes works, and frequently tastes like sugary LifetimeTV soda pop left out overnight: lukewarm and lacking fizz. There are wonderful performances by a brilliant cast, but the script lets them down.

Rated 2 out of 5 stars

01/30/23

Full Review

brent m

This bittersweet tale of an aging Cuban jazz musician suffering from dementia and the young nursing home attendant who seeks to help him revive his memories of his storied past serves up a warm and touching story with great visuals, a saucy soundtrack and an excellent lead performance by Louis Gossett Jr. Although occasionally formulaic and predictable with a few too many story threads, the picture nevertheless entertains while reminding us all of making the most of what time we've each got. The film is available in limited theatrical and drive-in release, as well as for limited online streaming, but this delightfully colorful and pleasant offering is worth the search.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

03/31/23

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Sergio Navarretta

Director

Louis Gossett Jr.

Luis Garcia

Ana Golja

Mina

Shohreh Aghdashloo

Bano Ayoub

Lauren Holly

Nurse Baker

Giacomo Gianniotti

Kris

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The Cuban: Trailer 1

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Synopsis

When a naive pre-med student gets her first job at a nursing home, an unexpected friendship with Luis, an elderly Cuban musician, reignites her love of music and changes her life forever.

Director: Sergio Navarretta
Producer: Ana Golja, Taras Koltun, Sergio Navarretta, Alessandra Piccione
Screenwriter: Alessandra Piccione
Distributor: Brainstorm Media
Production Co: S.N.A.P. Films, 920 Films
Genre: Drama
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Jul 31, 2020, Limited
Release Date (Streaming): Oct 4, 2020
Runtime: 1h 49m

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