Habana Muda 2011

This frank documentary account of complications in the personal life of a poor, young, Havana husband and father sheds surprising light on life in Cuba today. Director Erich Brach spent three years in Havana filming Chino, a deaf-mute who works on a farm to support his feisty wife Anaylis (also deaf) and their two children. Chino, with his crooked porn star smoulder, also hooks up regularly with Jose, a gay visitor from Mexico City. Smitten, Jose offers tantalising prospects of opportunities in Mexico, and provides generous gifts to Chino, to his children and to a bemused Anaylis as well. We meet the wider circles of all three and see how unsettling this relationship is for everyone concerned, the gallant coloniser included, and yet how very unpredictable and tenacious love can be. Brach’s eye is attentive to the eloquent sign language of his subjects. He is a sympathetic and non-judgemental observer, discreetly unpacking a complex nest of hopes and dreams. The sensual allure of their island culture informs every beautiful frame. — BG

Screening with With Fidel Whatever Happens.