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.