Reviews

The anatomy of a people spills out of their music and onto the streets of Cuba in this simple road movie. El Gallo, "the rooster" troubadour singer travels through different parts of Cuba, welcomed by old and new friends alike. No "interviews" or story line of the conventional sense, just heartfelt bravado and slice-of-life charisma flows out of the instruments and vocal chords of these musicians. Its not the destination but the journey that matters in this film.

There are a few poignant scenes: one scene, older musicians improvise songs with ease in a kind of musical cipher called a changui, when a younger kid/ rapper tries to jump in the mix with a few lines but he's not really allowed to continue. Another musician explains tradition to him: in order for the the younger generation to truly learn the music and how to improvise in a changui, they must listen first. The kid reluctantly concedes, but manages to sneak in a few rhymes to be "tested out" in his protest. In another scene, a 70+yr old trumpeter peacefully performs his morning stretching/mediation ritual, trumpet in hand.

Hey, if you're going to watch a devoid European filmmaker explore (and envy) the rich vitality of a people, forget about Buena Vista Social Club folks! At least Dridi leaves Cuban music to the Cubans...Surely not a groundbreaking film but an enlightening journey all the same.

For those of us who grew up with Essence magazines sprawled over the bedroom floor, with the smell of fried hair on the hot comb and deep conversations about love and collective pain will understand the magnitude of this piece. It is an introductory journey into the politics of hair, beauty, and color on what it means to be a black woman in white Amerika. I watched this documentary five years ago and the impression has been long lasting to say the least. Pressing irons, braid extensions, "the great white hope", mixed political warfare waging new meaning to the phrase beauty is only skin deep.