Cuba | |
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File:Cuba film.jpg Theatrical release poster |
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Directed by | Richard Lester |
Produced by | Arlene Sellers Alex Winitsky |
Written by | Charles Wood |
Starring | Sean Connery Brooke Adams Chris Sarandon Hector Elizondo Jack Weston Denholm Elliot |
Music by | Patrick Williams |
Cinematography | David Watkin |
Editing by | John Victor-Smith |
Distributed by | United Artists |
Release date(s) | 21 December 1979 |
Running time | 122 minutes |
Country | United States |
Language | English |
Cuba is a 1979 drama film directed by Richard Lester and starring Sean Connery, set during the build-up to the 1959 Cuban Revolution.
Connery stars as a British mercenary who travels to Cuba, which is on the brink of revolution with the authority of dictator Fulgencio Batista collapsing every day. Connery meets a former lover there (Brooke Adams), who is neglected by her Cuban husband (Chris Sarandon). The film ends with Havana falling to Fidel Castro's revolutionaries and most of Connery's employers fleeing the island aboard one of the last flights out.
The same historical events were featured five years earlier in Francis Ford Coppola's The Godfather Part II and would be covered again by Sidney Pollack in his 1990 film Havana, starring Robert Redford. Lester's film was perhaps the most stylish of the three, aided by its stirring Spanish locations, "with a marvelous sense of atmosphere."[1]
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Former British Major Robert Dapes (Sean Connery) arrives in Cuba under General Bello's (Martin Balsam) orders to train the Cuban army to resist Fidel Castro's upcoming revolution. Before he even begins his task, he struck by the reappearance of an old flame, Alexandra Lopez de Pulido (Brooke Adams), whom he repeatedly tries to pursue. The plot winds around the tremendous wealth of the present leaders, the mostly American tourists who seem to ooze money, the poverty-stricken and ex-urban slums where most Cubans live, and the rum and cigar factory that Alexandra's husband owns and that Alexandra runs. A blatant sexual nightclub performance is interrupted by Fidel's soldiers in olive green, with machine guns, scattering the entertainment and the entertained and leaving a bloodsoaked scene.
When Alexandra's husband takes her out and expects her to sit and have a drink with a potential (factory) investor and his prostitute, she leaves the restaurant and runs into Robert. Furious with her husband, she is more open to spending time with him and reminiscencing about their old affair in North Africa (when she was 15 and he was 30). They find a motel and make love. It is clear that they care for each other. But he will not stay in Cuba. Will she leave with him?
The next day virtually every Cuban worker goes on strike, including those in Alex's factory. Alex watches the events go by, believing things will soon return to normal. Robert begs her to leave, either to be with him or just to escape Cuba. She refuses.
Not seeing Alex at the airport, Robert boards the plane. Meanwhile, Alex is at the airport, outside the wire fence, watching him board the plane and weeping.
This movie weaves many more plots around these events, as various Cubans, Brits, and Americans try to make something of the revolution. What is most stunning about this movie, however, is that it unwinds like a James Bond movie but "inside out." Robert is the cool, competent, knowledgeable spy: but he is inserted into a history that imposes on him an almost complete passivity: he is supposed to engineer Fidel's defeat; he knows Fidel will win. And instead of powerfully sweeping his gorgeous counterpart off her feet, she's always one step ahead of him, and he must let her go.
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Coordinates: 21°30′N 80°00′W / 21.500°N 80.000°W
Cuba, officially the Republic of Cuba (Spanish: República de Cuba ), is a country comprising the islands of Cuba, Isla de la Juventud and several archipelagos in the Caribbean Sea. The capital and largest city Havana is 365 km (227 mi) from Miami, Florida. Geographically, Cuba is considered part of North America. Culturally, it is considered part of Latin America.
Prior to Spanish colonization in the late 15th century, Cuba was inhabited by Amerindian tribes. It remained a colony of Spain until the Spanish–American War of 1898, which led to nominal independence as a de facto U.S. protectorate in 1902. As a fragile republic, Cuba attempted to strengthen its democratic system, but mounting political radicalization and social strife culminated in the dictatorship of Fulgencio Batista in 1952. Further unrest and instability led to Batista's ousting in January 1959 by the July 26 movement, which afterwards established a government under the leadership of Fidel Castro. Since 1965, the country has been governed by the Communist Party of Cuba.
Cuba (Portuguese pronunciation: [ˈkuβɐ]) is a town and municipality in the District of Beja in Portugal. The population in 2011 was 4,878, in an area of 172.09 km².
It is historically known in Portugal as being the birthplace of Christopher Columbus. (In: Mascarenhas Barreto "Colombo Português: Provas Documentais"), and a statue honouring him can be seen on the city centre.
The current mayor (since 2013) is João Português. The municipal holiday is Monday after Easter.
Administratively, the municipality is divided into 4 civil parishes (freguesias):
Cuba is a Caribbean island country.
Cuba may also refer to: