Memories of Underdevelopment
Director: Tomás Gutiérrez Alea
Year Released: 1968
Rating: 2.0
Once ol' Fidel comes into power in the stubborn (but resilient) island nation of Cuba, Sergio (Sergio Corrieri) stays behind while his (well-to-do) family escape to Florida - there, he witnesses the drama leading up to the Cuban Missile Crisis, mopes around and seduces various women, one of them being underage (he gets accused of rape but is acquitted). It's presented - a bit awkwardly - as a misogynistic arthouse soap opera (so many screechy women!) with some historical commentary, but by the end I wasn't sure if it was pro-Revolution or anti-Revolution or where it's leaning (perhaps the ambiguity is the point). The handheld camera work and chopped-up technique brings to mind the work of Godard, but the worldview is even less coherent. Sergio is basically a sleazebag and I would not have minded him being locked up or shipped out, but at the end he's unscathed (if emotionally lost).