Showing posts with label life in cuba. Show all posts
Showing posts with label life in cuba. Show all posts

Friday, December 12, 2008

Watching AzĂșcar Amarga (Bitter Sugar)

My Spanish movie for the week!



Here's the plot from IMDB (internet movie database):

"Gustavo is a young Havana Communist who believes in the revolution; he hopes for a scholarship to study aeronautical engineering in Prague. But his faith in the new Cuba is tested: his father, a psychiatrist, can make four times as much playing piano at a hotel for foreigners; his sweetheart, Yolanda, wants a career as a dancer and longs for the riches of Miami; his younger brother Bobby simply wants to play rock music, and as a result is in constant trouble with the authorities. When Bobby takes a shocking step of revolt and Gustavo is refused service at a foreigners-only bar, the contradictions in his resolve to become a "new man" push him to the breaking point." Written by {jhailey@hotmail.com}

Although not exactly uplifting, the movie plays in beautiful modern Havana. The story is compelling (and true!) and gives a good picture of life in Cuba. Lots of dialog.

Easiest to understand: Dad, then Gustavo, then Yolanda. It's a little stretch to grasp everything they're saying, as articulation is not very clear, but hey, that's how they speak. I watched it once with English subtitles, then without. Knowing the story line and the content of the dialogs helps tremendously!

On a scale from 1-10 for Spanish learning, I'd give it a 7.