Cuba and the Cameraman

Cuba and the Cameraman is a 2017 American documentary film written, directed and co-produced by Jon Alpert. The film is a Netflix Original and was first shown at the 74th Venice International Film Festival.

Cuba and the Cameraman
Film Poster
Directed byJon Alpert
Written byJon Alpert
Produced byJon Alpert
Matthew O'Neill
Tessa Treadway
CinematographyJon Alpert
Edited byDavid Meneses
Music byDaniel Freiberg
Distributed byNetflix
Release dates
Running time
114 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish/Spanish

Synopsis

The film shows Cuba over a course of 45 years through the lens of Jon Alpert.

Production

Alpert started visiting Cuba in the 70's. After founding the Downtown Community Television Center, he became increasingly interested in Cuba's policies. He said: "We heard that Fidel Castro was implementing the social programs that we were fighting for here in New York”. The film was edited from over 1,000 hours of footage, Alpert filmed since the first time he visited Cuba.[1]

Reception

On review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an approval rating of 100% based on 8 reviews, with an average rating of 7.7/10.[2] Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned a score of 82 out of 100, based on 5 critics, indicating "Universal acclaim".[3] Glenn Kenny from The New York Times wrote: "In part because of its political blind spots, “Cuba and the Cameraman” is captivating. (Whatever you think of Mr. Alpert’s perspective, it’s interesting.) But it’s mostly worth watching because of human stories like these."[1]

David Ehrlich from IndieWire gave the film a B+ and stated: "If only Alpert had been a bit less genial, if only he had dug a little deeper — if only he had either taken himself out of the equation, or gone the other way and been much more introspective about his complicated feelings about Castro — then “Cuba and the Cameraman” could have been more than just a window into a foreign world. But windows are important; without them, we’d never be able to see through our walls. And this is as clear and wide a window as you’re ever likely to find."[4]

Sheri Linden from the Los Angeles Times said about the film: "As a decades-long, ground-level portrait of the country, his vibrant film is unprecedented."[5] Neil Young from The Hollywood Reporter wrote: "A work of old-school humanism that hovers between pro-Revolutionary fervor and a more objective documentary stance, Cuba and the Cameraman is sustained by the strong bonds of trust which the gregarious Alpert has evidently been able to maintain with Cubans from various echelons of this theoretically classless society."[6]

References
  1. Kenny, Glenn (23 November 2017). "Review: 'Cuba and the Cameraman' Lavishes Love on a Country … and Castro". The New York Times. Retrieved 24 February 2018.
  2. "CUBA AND THE CAMERAMAN (2017)". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved 24 February 2018.
  3. "Cuba and the Cameraman 2017". Metacritic. Retrieved 8 May 2018.
  4. Ehrlich, David (22 November 2017). "'Cuba and the Cameraman' Review: Netflix Presents an Enthrallingly Intimate Look at 50 Years of Life in Cuba". IndieWire. Retrieved 24 February 2018.
  5. Linden, Sheri (22 November 2017). "Filmmaker forges bond over decades in documentary 'Cuba and the Cameraman'". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 24 February 2018.
  6. Young, Neil (17 September 2017). "'Cuba and the Cameraman': Film Review". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 24 February 2018.
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