

Director: Juan Carlos Cremata Malberti
Cast: Jorge Milo, Mal Tarrau Broche

This film was the official submission by Cuba to Oscar 2006.

The official website
see
http://www.vivacubamovie.com/

Synopsis
The film revolves around two kids who are good friends from diverse family backgrounds, with mothers who are "enemies". As the girl's mother intend to move overseas, the kids embark on a journey to prevent it from happening ...

My thoughts ...

-- The film begins with the children playing a game of war (and peace) ... ha ... while it can be construed as simply a children's game (so as to pave the way for a boy vs girl antagonism), I do think that it can also be perceived as a hint to "war and peace" at the individual level, the family level and national level ... 
... at the individual level, the film will make you chuckle at those good young days ... i believe all of us would recall how guys and gals used to argue/quarrel with each other ... this is always fun to watch, given that when they grow old, they learn to like and marry each other ...
... at the family level, the contrast is very apparent (becos the film revolves around two families whereby the mothers are at loggerheads (due to societal's discrimination by status) but the two kids are very good friends ... the irony sets in later, when the mothers learn to be friends, but the children become enemies ...)
... at the national level, it is less apparent but i do believe that the setting of the story, the background of the two families, and the girl's family intention to move abroad (in contrast to the directors' beautiful depiction of Cuba) provide hint of the message at the national level ...

-- The director's effort in "art direction" is very apparent (and commendable) as some of the shots are very well taken or choreographed ... Likewise, his effort in "contrasts" are also very stark ... he literally lay the scenes next to each other or intermix them such that any audience will immediately notice the irony/opposites/contrasts ... it can be good (becos the message gets across clearly) or it may be bad (becos it is kind of blatant/too intentional) ...

-- In terms of casting, I think the young cast did a decent job ... As for the adult cast, we have to understand that it is a comedy/drama, so some of the expressions may be slightly exaggerated ...

-- Finally, some people may be delighted by the occasional "non real" (i.e., digitized images) while others might find it jarring to a "drama" ... nonetheless, it is all about kids and their world ... so be more forgiving ...


Conclusion:
Above average. 
A light hearted film that has a nice Cuban music and good overall message about friendship ... 

Also, I guess audience will be talking about how the film ends ...
Want to know how the film ends? Watch it ...
hee hee