MovieChat Forums > Soy Cuba Discussion > Stunning, breathtaking

Stunning, breathtaking


This film and the subsequent Brazilian documentary "I am Cuba the Siberian Mammoth" were screened back to back on Sundance channel last night. Had no idea they were on and accidentally found them channel-surfing. What a lucky break!!!! These films should be required viewing for any lover of cinema. The cinematography of "I am Cuba" is outstanding. The makers of "I am Cuba" were fortunate to have their project funded by government, and so they could take two years to make it and have it turn out a masterpiece, including taking months to travel back to USSR to get the perfect negative to intensify the black-and-white images. Or, to do no shooting at all for THREE DAYS just because there were no clouds in the sky, and they wanted a cloudy sky for shooting. These facts are revealed in the "Siberian Mammoth" documentary, which wonderfully details the making of "I Am Cuba". These creative luxuries make for great art, but are foreclosed by the pressures of modern studio filmmaking, which seems to frown upon anything that is not quick/fast/cheap, and art be damned if the film won't make $800 billion its first weekend.
I feel so fortunate to have seen these films. Viewing them will broaden both your cinematic and cultural understanding of Cuba, the USSR and the USA.

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They showed both films again today, so I'd say it's possible it'll happen again sometime soon on the Sundance channel, so interested parties may want to keep their eyes peeled...

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[deleted]

"How did they move the camera down the building to the pool... and then the end of the third vignette out the building. "

this is an excellent question

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http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0058604/trivia

"Film is a mosaic of Time."
-A. Tarkovsky

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It never really says how they did it but it baffeled me also. I saw wires on the shot coming out of the window but dont know how they did it.

"You never got me down Ray, you never got me down" Raging Bull

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I'm watching it now on TCM. Stunning and breathtaking indeed. A visual feast, shot after shot after shot after shot! (I think the sugar-cane scenes were shot on infrared stock.) This film alone should be enough to convince anyone that black-and-white is not boring or "obsolete". If you love adventurous cinematography, you MUST see it. Hard to believe it was made 50 years ago!

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They showed this film on TCM again last night. Of course, it was pretty late for me, so I only saw the first half hour. The filming was amazing. Whatever stock film that was used brought intense contrast, clarity and depth, something you don't see in modern films and especially in any digital format used today. Black and white is my favorite medium for film since it is so clear. I only hope they show this movie again so I may enjoy it in its entirety.

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I was baking a cake, and trying to watch at the same time.
I was stunned by the beauty of the film.
The storyline has some relevance today, as well.
It is available on TCM on demand, so you (and I ) can watch the entire movie, although on a smaller screen (IPad or computer)

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