This is one of the best movies on music that I've ever seen - a great collaborative effort by Wim Wenders, Ry Cooder and, most importantly, the Cuban musicians. The musicians portrayed in this documentary are truly beautiful people - not necessarily beautiful in the Hollywood sense, but beautiful in their hearts and souls.
Wim Wenders takes us through the backstreets of Cuba and intersperses interviews, that show the roots of the music, with recording studio and concert footage. The music and lives of these exquisite musicians are both sad and beautiful. Several of them had all but abandoned music before Ry Cooder assembled this project. Cooder and his son take a back seat to these Cuban veterans who deserve all of the recognition they are finally receiving.
The scenes of two of the older singers looking at the statues of American heroes in a souvenir shop in Manhattan is especially touching. And the music, especially the songs from Carnegie Hall, are stunning.
On both a sociological and musical level, this is a very moving documentary.
Wim Wenders takes us through the backstreets of Cuba and intersperses interviews, that show the roots of the music, with recording studio and concert footage. The music and lives of these exquisite musicians are both sad and beautiful. Several of them had all but abandoned music before Ry Cooder assembled this project. Cooder and his son take a back seat to these Cuban veterans who deserve all of the recognition they are finally receiving.
The scenes of two of the older singers looking at the statues of American heroes in a souvenir shop in Manhattan is especially touching. And the music, especially the songs from Carnegie Hall, are stunning.
On both a sociological and musical level, this is a very moving documentary.