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Ry Cooder,
Ry Cooder,
Compay Segundo,
more...
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Wim Wenders,
Wim Wenders
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: 
: Live/Artisan
: Documentary, Music, Documentary, Music
: 101 min.
: English
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Wim Wenders' documentary Buena Vista Social Club is about the adventures of Ry Cooder in Cuba. Cooder, best remembered by film fans for the wailing slide guitar theme of Wenders' Paris, Texas, went to Cuba in 1996 to meet with some legendary 'soneros' musicians of the '30s, '40s and '50s. The result was the album Buena Vista Social Club, recorded with such colorful characters as the 90-year-old singer/guitarist Compay Segundo, guitarist Eliades Ochoa, baritone Ibrahim Ferrer and Omara Portuondo, "the Cuban Edith Piaf." The album won a Grammy, and in this refreshing documentary, Wim Wenders shows these exceptional musicians in their hometown, following them into their usual hang-outs -- the cafes, clubs and even living rooms -- as well as to concerts in Amsterdam and New York's Carnegie Hall, capturing their incredible vitality. "In Cuba, music flows like a river," according to Ry Cooder, who adds "Music is like a treasure hunt; you dig and dig and sometimes find something." Pursuing this metaphor, Wenders wanted to make a film that would "just float on this river ... not interfering with it, just drifting along." The result is a film full of vitality and positive energy, which is also an absolute delight to musical ears. ~ Gönül Dönmez-Colin, All Movie Guide
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| wonderful music, snapshot of modern cuba
by hneline1
March 1, 2002 - 10:43 AM PST
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4 out of 4 members found this review helpful
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| I loved this DVD for it's excellent music, warm interviews with these outstanding musicians, and shots of Cuba and the Cuban people. I kept thinking, wait, it's 1997 and the streets and people look like they're in the 1930's. The camera moves around the musicians' homes, neighborhoods, bars, recording studios, local parks, beautiful old buildings where little girls practice gymnastics... You see the details of real, everyday life in the eye of the camera. Best scenes -- Ibrahim Ferrer showing us his house god and explaining the items he offers it (honey, perfume, rum because Ibrahim likes rum so he figures that his house god like rum), looking around Compay Secundo's bedroom and seeing a Buzz Lightyear doll, shots of a Cuban cigar factory and shots of a guitar maker's factory. Also, watch the DVD special features -- they show some of the interviews and jam sessions complete and uncut. I just wish it was longer so we could see more of the interviews and hear more of the music sessions. |
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GreenCine Member Rating
(Average 7.28)
238 Votes
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