Customer Reviews

Yank Tanks - Carros Classicos De Cuba

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I loved this movie so much I <a href="http://pratie.blogspot.com/2005/06/yank-tanks.html">blogged it</a>. Gorgeous shots of urban Cuba and Cubans and the craft of keeping old cars on the road for nearly half a century. The ingenuity and zest of these old dudes will inspire you. The music is great too. Watch a guy make motorcycles out of bicycles and chain saw motors. Watch a guy in a golden Cadillac he's had for 42 years with babes (maybe they're his grand-daughters) grinning in delight. Watch guys squirm when asked, "would you pick your wife or your car?" "My car! You can find another woman later." "Both have thirty years with me - it is an equally balanced love."

More seriously, there's a lot to learn about the way Cubans have adapted to being so isolated and lacking in things we think of as necessities. I hope we would not be too fat and lazy to do the same, if the need arises.

Fortunately politics are left behind to take an endearing look at the

army of homegrown chewing gum and baling wire engineers that keeps Cuba

rolling. Meet the artisans who use chain link fence for welding rods,

and and can refit your cherry Studebaker woody with a Soviet tractor

engine. Suspended between old-fashioned Communism and Yankee freedom

and capitalism, a unique culture not yet lost to Toyotaland.

Recommended for any documentary fan who's ever been or aspired to be a shade tree

mechanic.

I saw this at Cinequest film festival in San Jose, CA a few years back. It's a great film about the ingenious ways the Cubans keep these beautiful cars running and looking good. I recommend it to any car lover who appreciates the classic value of the 50's American cars.

What a neat one to watch! A true throw-back to the 50s/70s. While it is sad to know that the owners of these cars cannot (yet) get either parts for their classics or recognition for keeping them alive, it also shows the creative spirit of the Cuban people... and the music of the video is awesome as well.

this is a great video. it deserves more attention. it's a top american-made documentary. dealing w/ amazon was a pleasure.

Initially I purchased this for myself, then for several friends. It shows wonderful scenes of Cuba, and also shows the creativity and resourcefulness of people who love cars, and what they do to keep them going. It's an insight into the wink wink of living under communism. I recommend this to car enthusiasts, and to those wondering what life in Cuba, in some regards is like. Excellent.

Brilliant, funny, smart, colorful and wise. This film is a car nut's dream, while at the same time showing the ingenuity of Cubans to make something out of nothing.
The cars are bright and fabuluoso, as are their owners.
After while you forget the subtitles and just read the old guys faces to find your way around this enlightening documentary about the Big American Cars left in Cuba after the Castro Regime took power.

I was looking forward to buying this but then I saw it on netflix and I was disappointed,instead of being apolitical on focusing on the beautiful cars we have basically a documentary on cars and on how the embargo should be lifted,then you have a non-Cuban(South American/Central American or Mexican) Interviewer asking mundane and silly questions as if a Cuban would dare speak out against Castro Inside Cuba! it even starts bad with "in 1959,The brutal regime of Batista" to that effect, Brutal Dictatorship to another even More brutal. then the non Cuban Hispanic poses a Question "So you operating your own business Inside a Socialist Country"? How can one operate anything as one said they do pay taxes,Cuba is not a Utopia,it used to be beautiful,it has beautiful women,cars and Now not because of an embargo but a tyrant,These cars are what you have,but look for yourself and you will see miserable people behind the smiles. (there are very few who are enablers.)and Yes The Cuban is an inventor,but to showcase cars and then have an anti-embargo message with Pro Castro Leanings,Sorry I wanted to see cars not more of the same utopia myths.

A tribute to Cuban ingenuity, in keeping 1930's, 40's and 50's American cars on the road, cars for whom replacement parts have been embargoed by our government for the last 50-odd years.

They're as much a moving landmark as San Francisco's cable cars and Manila's Jeepneys, and I hope that Cuba's eventual move toward free-market economics won't mean that these cars are scrapped.

The end is hilarious, as various Cuban car owners mull a particular question asked by director Schendel.

This is a great little movie about the 1950's American cars stranded in Cuba after the embargo, their owners, and the mechanics who keep them running and on the road. Beautiful photography, really great music, even hip hop and rap music that the younger people would love. To sum up in one word what this movie does is this movie SHINES. Gleaming Chrome, polished cars, sparkling cars in the sun, colorful people, friendly people, and a wonderful country that still has so much potential if only the embargo hadn't been imposed. There is such a rich culture and people do the best they can in very hard, poor circumstances while living in the past. This is a great movie and goes along well with the movie Buena Vista Social Club.