Sons of Cuba
- Posted: 26th Mar 2010
- Category: Reviews
Sons of Cuba is director Andrew Lang’s feature debut. It follows Cristian, Santos and Junior, three young Cuban boys, nicknamed “The Old Man”, “The Singer”, and “The Dalmatian” respectively.
The film centres around the boys' lives at the Havana Boxing Academy as they train for the Cubaís National Under-12s Boxing Championships.
Early on it becomes clear that sport, and in particular boxing, are extremely important in Cuban society and in the lives of the boys. Fidel Castro delivers messages about the relevance of sport to the revolution, people talk about the prowess of the Cuban sports stars and obsess over their personal sporting heroes.
Boxing has given Cuba 32 of their 65 Olympic gold medals and Cuba is said to have the highest number of amateur boxing champions in the world. In Cuba sport is encouraged at primary level where talented children are spotted and at the age of twelve sent to specialist sports schools to develop their talents. It has a relatively small population and poor standard of living, but this is compensated for with rigorous training programs.
Boxing has given Cuba 32 of their 65 Olympic gold medals and Cuba is said to have the highest number of amateur boxing champions in the world. In Cuba sport is encouraged at primary level where talented children are spotted and at the age of twelve sent to specialist sports schools to develop their talents. It has a relatively small population and poor standard of living, but this is compensated for with rigorous training programs.
The boys are in a junior academy and they still have to get up at 4.30am to train, before attending academic classes, and resuming training at 4pm. They collapse in bed at 9.30pm before starting again the next day.
Despite all of the action revolving around a boxing academy, Sons of Cuba is not just about sport. It explores Cuban society and politics in an intimate and incidental way. While the boys pursue their sporting dreams, economic issues and dramatic political events present themselves. The audience is genuinely engaged with their journey to participate in and possibly win the Championships, while at the same time getting a strong sense of climate in Cuba while the film is being made. This is done so skilfully that the film doesn’t feel worthy and didactic.
The boys’ candour in front of the camera is incredible. Their tears of disappointment, voicing their worries and extolling their hopes for the future, happen without conceit. The intimacy of experiencing the emotions that they go through at each stage is unique, and here the six weeks of casting and months that Lang spent filming definitely pay off.
This film is a subtly crafted, intimate insight into a moment in Cuba’s history. Coming at the end of the Castro era, one senses that all is about to change.
Dir. Andrew Lang, 2009, 88min
For more information visit:
www.sonsofcuba.com
Despite all of the action revolving around a boxing academy, Sons of Cuba is not just about sport. It explores Cuban society and politics in an intimate and incidental way. While the boys pursue their sporting dreams, economic issues and dramatic political events present themselves. The audience is genuinely engaged with their journey to participate in and possibly win the Championships, while at the same time getting a strong sense of climate in Cuba while the film is being made. This is done so skilfully that the film doesn’t feel worthy and didactic.
The boys’ candour in front of the camera is incredible. Their tears of disappointment, voicing their worries and extolling their hopes for the future, happen without conceit. The intimacy of experiencing the emotions that they go through at each stage is unique, and here the six weeks of casting and months that Lang spent filming definitely pay off.
This film is a subtly crafted, intimate insight into a moment in Cuba’s history. Coming at the end of the Castro era, one senses that all is about to change.
Dir. Andrew Lang, 2009, 88min
For more information visit:
www.sonsofcuba.com