Episode Details

(1964/Soviet Union/Cuba, 141 min., b&w, drama)

Director: Mikhail Kalatazov. Written by Yevgeny Yevtushenko.  Cast: Sergio Corrieri, Salvador Wood, José Gallardo, Raúl García, Luz María Collazo, Jean Bouise.

A Soviet filmmaker tells four stories of the Cuban Revolution. In Spanish with English subtitles.

Four vignettes in Batista's Cuba dramatize the need for revolution; long, mobile shots tell almost wordless stories. In Havana, Maria faces shame when a man who fancies her discovers how she earns her living. Pedro, an aging peasant, is summarily told that the land he farms has been sold to United Fruit. A university student faces down a crowd of swaggering U.S. sailors and then watches friends shot by police when they try to distribute a pro-Castro leaflet. The war arrives on the doorstep of peasants Mariano, Amelia, and their four children when Batista's forces bomb the hills. Mariano wants peace, so he seeks out the guerrillas to join the fight. Discussion guest: Yevgeny Yevtushenko.

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