Memories of Underdevelopment

1961, Havana. After the Bay of Pigs landing some people are leaving the country; Sergio's wife and family go to Miami. Sergio stays. He has an income from properties he rents out, works at nothing, and spends his days walking the city. He does not support the revolution and is not against it; he considers himself above everyone and finds the people around him underdeveloped. He begins a relationship with a young woman. Meanwhile the country changes and the missile crisis approaches. Tomás Gutiérrez Alea directs. Sergio Corrieri plays Sergio. It is a Cuban production. The form is mixed: newsreel footage, photographs and real recordings enter between the fictional scenes. The narrative proceeds in Sergio's inner voice and that voice is not reliable; what he says and what is seen often contradict each other. What is most argued about is its stance; the narrative neither elevates the revolution nor defends the bourgeois character, and leaves both in their own contradiction. It was made in a state supported institution and still kept its critical distance, which is distinctive for Cuban cinema of the period. At the end the news of the missile crisis arrives and the character's private matters lose their scale at once. The film was shown only in a limited way in America for many years and was widely reassessed later. Who it is for: viewers who like Latin American cinema and formal experiment. Who it is not for: the character is unpleasant, the narrative is loose, and it asks for historical context.