Customer Reviews

Memories of Underdevelopment [VHS]

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This isn't just a film of historical value; far from it. It is one of the greatest films ever made by anyone. The balance of elements that went into this venture came out magnificently poetic and real. The semi-documentary style is deeply influenced by "Hiroshima Mon Amour" and other New Wave classics, but the sensibility is Alea's own and distinctly 'Latin American Intellectual.'

There are very few films that can make me cry, this is one of them. The hot tears begin their descent, not because of the story itself, but the simple and beautifully subtle way it is expressed.

The leading character's central tragedy of not being able to reconcile his own deep feeling for his people with his intellectual standards because of their 'underdevelopment' and subsequent alienated existence, or more precisely, their inability to transcend their alienation to reach a more fulfilled state, is one of the most touching and relevant themes I've ever seen in a film.

A great performance by Sergio Corrieri(I Am Cuba) provides the required erotic undertone and comedic rhythms to convey the true feel of an intellectual 'playboy' existence in early '60s Cuba. The effect of this film is visceral and must be seen to be appreciated, words can hardly describe it. Suffice it to suffice that it uses all the resources of cinema and then some. Not the least of the resources on parade is the fantastic, understated score by Leo Beower which perfectly captures the film's bittersweet mood. WATCH IT TODAY because as those wise-aleck, overrated mopheads once sang: "Tommorow Never Knows"

Memories of Under Development is a movie about a man named Sergio who is recently divorced. It tells us his story but also the story of his country Cuba. It goes back and forth between these two, illuminating us on the story of how the people he knows in Cuba are "underdeveloped" and how the country itself, made up of such people, is in a way "underdeveloped" too. Even with that said it isn't a harsh critic of people but more of a mild one and perhaps a bit of self-criticism as well.

Sergio thinks most of the people he knows are underdeveloped. His ex-wife and parents have left Cuba to go to the United States, and he doesn't mind, in fact he nearly pities them and this movie shows us why. He is artistic and thinks of himself as Europeanized, thus more advanced than others on some level but he doesn't gloat about it or show off. Sergio is a little cynical but maybe he is realistic also. Best if all, at times he is very funny.

The film mixes video footage and still photography that tells us about Cuba and life there. It sheds light on how the country was influenced by Spain, the United States and the Soviet Union. One has to also give it some credit as the film doesn't create an entirely a rosy portrait of the Cuban government under Castro and shows how the wealthy had their property confiscated.

The way the story in Memories of Under Development blends personal history with the history of a country works well. If you enjoy art house films or have interest in learning about Cuba, I would say it is worth checking out Memories of Under Development.

Memories of Under Development is a movie about a man named Sergio who is recently divorced. It tells us his story but also the story of his country Cuba. It goes back and forth between these two, illuminating us on the story of how the people he knows in Cuba are "underdeveloped" and how the country itself, made up of such people, is in a way "underdeveloped" too. Even with that said it isn't a harsh critic of people but more of a mild one and perhaps a bit of self-criticism as well.

Sergio thinks most of the people he knows are underdeveloped. His ex-wife and parents have left Cuba to go to the United States, and he doesn't mind, in fact he nearly pities them and this movie shows us why. He is artistic and thinks of himself as Europeanized, thus more advanced than others on some level but he doesn't gloat about it or show off. Sergio is a little cynical but maybe he is realistic also. Best if all, at times he is very funny.

The film mixes video footage and still photography that tells us about Cuba and life there. It sheds light on how the country was influenced by Spain, the United States and the Soviet Union. One has to also give it some credit as the film doesn't create an entirely a rosy portrait of the Cuban government under Castro and shows how the wealthy had their property confiscated.

The way the story in Memories of Under Development blends personal history with the history of a country works well. If you enjoy art house films or have interest in learning about Cuba, I would say it is worth checking out Memories of Under Development.

The amazing thing about this film is that, 40 years later, it is still fresh. Gutierrez Alea understood that Cuba was ready for changes, that those changes would critically impact all classes in Cuban society, some negatively, some positively. He passed no judgement. Through his main character, he allowed us to simply observe the transformations taking place.

The acting is superb, as well as the cinematography. I would recommend it to anyone who loves quality film making.

This is one of the best films I've ever seen. It reminds me a lot of 8 1/2 from Fellini but in a Cuban context.

Everything remains without any change. The real essence of the underdevelopment is precisely the incapability of growing up, transformation and even more to innovate.

The real is may well identified thanks its own strength and its effectiveness, by its fast ability to react and act. The real is inimitable, the false is unchanging.

This film reveals so much more than you can really expect. It' s a work which works out at several levels. Through the personal portrait of an outlaw Cuban, without financial problems, decides to stay in the early sixties to watch what it happens. In fact he becomes in a real sociological peeping tom and somehow he doesn't seem to realize the immense spider web that slowly goes involving him. Bitter and sharp reflections through a voice in off will be accompanied by an unscrupulous and valiant camera that will show you the faces, the surroundings and the quotidian behavior of a inexpressive faces as sinister ghosts who just walk without dreams.

Watch this movie. It is a historical document and a powerful statement. It useless to affirm this is the masterpiece of Tomas Gutierrez Alea, the same director of Strawberry and chocolat.

According to most "critics" this is one of the best movies ever. Pretty strong statement but not without some validity. An excellent movie to watch in terms of techniques used to get a point across. I enjoyed it but felt like I was sitting in one of my old communication film classes. When it was over I thought a prof might materialize and say " what do you think Tomas Gutierrez Alea was trying to say when Sergio......?" The thing about this movie is that there is so much going on, constantly flowing, never stoping, the drums are beating to a frenzy as the images are flashed before your eyes, it can be a bit much. Part propaganda piece, part romance, intellectual stimuli, a little of this and little of that made for a smorgasborg of cinema. While going through the cinema buffet the viewer is treated to glimpses of authentic historical footage. For starters the hungary film viewer may feast there eyes on fleeing family memebers after the Revolution, followed by the playboy of Havana in search of a young pidgeon. Moving along the cinema buffet line, the viewer will find romance, distraught lovers, rekindled affairs of the heart, and the consequences of societies handling of affairs between a young, naive girl and her seducer. Since there is always more than on can eat at a buffet, you might get tired and need a little nap before resuming your cinema course. There are no times for naps but Cuban music and dancing will be provided for your entertainment. Resuming your place in the film buffet don't miss the fast and furious view of Cuba without Batista. Be sure to treat yourself to the footage of the bay of pigs fiasco, a tour of Hemmingways home, complete with narration and original footage of Hemmingway hunting and later decorating his retreat home with his worldly prizes from his adventures. Feeling a little stuffed by now? Don't forget that included is a young Fidel the orator, making his anti- Yankee(not beisbol) speeches and for dessert President Kenedy speaking on the Cuban missle crisis. Exhausted or full yet? Well you will be after seeing this stream of consciousness movie. The characters are incidental vehicles of expression for this black and white picture of post revolutionary Cuba. This is what the world was allowed to see as represenative of Cuban film. Some will like it, others not. I imagine if you're living in Miami now you'll hate it. A stimulating movie that raises many questions, that depending on your viewpoint, creates many different answers. A must see for those interested in US-Cuban relations, or best said, those interested in knowing why we don't have relations. Every young, aspiring film maker should probably see this movie to learn something about film making.

A complex film both politically and psychologically. A bourgeois man decides to stay in post-revolutionary Cuba, even when his wife and family leave. He's detached and alienated from the revolution around him, from women, but also from his own shallow, old materialistic existence.

-- very mild, general spoiler ahead --

The film uses lots of brave, experimental and sophisticated visual techniques (sudden cuts to still photos, super long lens shots, handheld shots, intercutting news footage with staged), and almost all of it works towards making a fascinating whole. My only problem is that -- for me -- the experience is almost totally an intellectual one. I had very little emotional response during most of the film, although the last section, with the Cuban Missile Crisis looming has some real power.

Note that most critics I respect see this as a flat out masterpiece, so I could have missed something, and would be willing to give it a second look.

Instead it was not the first film of Tomas Gutierrez Alea, (Titon for his friends), there is no doubt that, Memories of the Underdevelopment is the most paradigmatic film not only in his biofilmography, also in the Cuban film history. Sergio's stream of consciousness was never before used in the latinoamerican cinema. Even when he is a witness of a real fact as postrevolutionary times in Cuba, he seems fictional and sceptics.

It's amazing how director Titón could show such a portrait of Cuban way of being in this film, which is the story of a cinic "burgues" that decides to stay in the country while all his family flee to Florida. He just wants to see what happen with that crazy revolution...Despite it was made 30 years ago its realism keep as fresh as if we were in 1961. Consider by critics in 1990 as one of the best 100 films of cinema history.