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The Movie:
Every decade or so, culture vultures in the United States likes to fly in
the face of government policy of disdain for Cuba and embrace one of its
recent films. Memories of Underdevelopment was favored, I Am
Cuba (technically a Soviet film) developed a cult, and Strawberries
and Chocolate was semi-popular all in their day. The latest film to
make a bid for American rebelliousness against official policy is Life
is to Whistle (La Vida es silbar). Originally released in 1998,
the film found its way to the U.S in 2000, and now enjoys DVD release from
New Yorker films. But Fernando Pérez's film, though it has a funny
gimmick and a sensuous attitude toward life, ultimately tries the viewer's
patience.
The film balances three narrative strands, all concerning adult
orphans, and all linked by a young narrator/hostess/spirit figure named
Bebe (Bebe Perez), who pops up occasionally to mark transitions between
the three stories. Those tales concern, first, Elpidio Valdes (Luis
Alberto Garcia), a musical fisherman who has an affair with a Greenpeace
worker (Isabel Santos) who tempts him to abandon Cuba with her in her
hot-air balloon. Then there is Julia (Coralia Veloz), a middle-aged social
worker who has fainting spells whenever she hears the word sex; it turns
out that Havana is experiencing an epidemic of fainting spells as people
collapse upon hearing "forbidden" words such as "freedom." Finally there
is Mariana (Claudia Rojas), a dancer who vows celibacy so she can earn a
part in a production of Giselle, and then has the misfortune to
fall in love with her co-star.
Most of these anecdotal tales are political allegories, and critical
of Cuba at that; they also infuse a little magical realism into the
proceedings, which sits poorly with the gross reality of a stripped bare,
politically committed culture. It's not a very subtle film (a character
called Cuba is sought by everyone), and the romantic clichés are
worthy of early Adrian Lyne. The thin characters don't inspire much
enthusiasm. In the end, Life is to Whistle
has a few enjoyable moments but is a little difficult to concentrate
on or follow, and doesn't transcend its politics with vivid images or
revolutionary cinematic techniques.
The DVD
VIDEO: Life is to Whistle isn't offered
up in the greatest transfer you are ever going to see. It is dark and
grainy, and just doesn't look that great, be it technical, or
attributable to cinematographer Raúl Pérez Ureta. It's a widescreen
image
(1.85:1) enhanced for widescreen televisions.
SOUND: Sound options are limited to
Spanish Dolby Digital stereo, with English subtitles.
MENUS: A static, silent menu offers 16 chapter
scene selection for this 106 minute movie.
PACKAGING: Life is to Whistle comes in a
keep case with cover art that reprints the poster, perhaps not the best
advertisement for the movie. The label
on the disc borrows elements of the poster. An insert lists chapter titles and bears a director's statement.
EXTRAS: Besides scene selection and English
subtitle options, the disc offers an unillustrative trailer.
one screen ad for other New Yorker film releases.
Final Thoughts: Life is to Whistle is a turgid affair
straining for significance and joy. Aficionados of Latin American cinema
and magical realism might find it diverting, and those interested in Cuba
may relish the country as it flies by in the background. Minimal extras
make it uninteresting to film students. Fans of the Buena Vista
Social Club will perhaps enjoy arbitrary shots of band leader Benny
Moré.
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