This historical drama, depicting different phases in the late childhood and youth of the so-called “Apostle of Cuba” José Martí, is most of the time a biopic full of commonplaces often found in this genre, directed by Fernando Pérez, one of the most respected names in Cuban cinema.

Narrated in four movements, in the first two (“Bees” and “Arias”), the 9 year old Martí (endearingly played by Damián Rodríguez) is bullied in school by schoolmates and abused by his schoolmaster, while he learns notions of justice and oppression from his father. He discovers the beauties of Mother Nature with an old slave, explores his sexuality and enters into the world of high art in a Havanan theater. The boy also becomes aware of the high price a poor child has to pay for education.

In the last two segments (“Birthday” and “Bars”), Daniel Romero plays the adolescent Martí in a more intense but still taciturn manner, as the budding Romantic poet becomes a militant for the liberation of Cuba under Spanish tyranny. As beautifully photographed as it is (by Raúl Pérez Ureta), still the motion picture has no exceptional strokes to lead it to greatness: the dialogues are often trite and the highly regarded actress Broselianda Hernández, as Martí’s mother, has to deal with excessively melodramatic scenes (wearing a long black dress that echoes Raquel Revuelta in «Lucía» and «Cecilia»).

Pérez knows how to keep us interested all the time, so the experience is never boring; but in my opinion, what saves «José Martí: el ojo del canario» from being a routine biopic is Pérez’s fabulation of Martí’s early life. It is true that you have to know that there is little information of José Martí’s childhood and adolescence, to have a better appreciation of Pérez’s script. However, it is the director’s free invention of situations, conflicts and inspirations –all based on chronicles of the dramatic times Martí lived and on the poetry he wrote in those years– that makes the motion picture a respectable and valuable movie experience.

2.22GB | 1h 45mn | 1920×1080 | mkv

https://nitroflare.com/view/CAAA57B3C6C4E05/Jose.Marti.el_ojo.del.canario.2010.Fernando.Perez.1080p.WEBRip.AAC.x264.RIYE.mkv
https://nitroflare.com/view/9A52EB9204875A0/José_Marti_,_the_Eye_of_the_Canary_-_Eng_-_25fps.srt
or
https://nitroflare.com/view/FB13D0253B440D3/Jose.Marti.el_ojo.del.canario.2010.Fernando.Perez.1080p.WEBRip.AAC.x264.RIYE.part1.rar
https://nitroflare.com/view/B82331C98BC0008/Jose.Marti.el_ojo.del.canario.2010.Fernando.Perez.1080p.WEBRip.AAC.x264.RIYE.part2.rar
https://nitroflare.com/view/DEC258E5010F91C/Jose.Marti.el_ojo.del.canario.2010.Fernando.Perez.1080p.WEBRip.AAC.x264.RIYE.part3.rar
https://nitroflare.com/view/9A52EB9204875A0/José_Marti_,_the_Eye_of_the_Canary_-_Eng_-_25fps.srt

Language(s):Spanish
Subtitles: English

The post Fernando Pérez – José Martí: el ojo del canario AKA Martí, the Eye of the Canary (2010) first appeared on Cinema of the World.

“Clandestinos” is the second film in First Run Film’s new Cuban Masterworks Collection and it is a dynamite film. It is a tense political thriller which centers on the romance between two Cuban revolutionaries as they fight for their lives against the secret service of Batista in the 1950’s. The film is based on actual events which occurred during the early days on the revolution in Cuba.

Fernando Perez, the director, is one of the, if not the, most prolific and innovative filmmakers working today in Cuba and “Clandestinos” is the most commercially successful Cuban films ever made. Remember that the revolution depicted in this film is the one that put Fidel Castro in power and it is about the young people who both loved and fought with the same strong passion.

The two young revolutionaries met and fell in love while working on an underground printing press. They fought independently from the groups that were led by Castro and at first they were simply content to disrupt public gatherings I a small way but they soon grew into committing major terrorist acts. The passion of the young lovers for each other and “the cause” will stay with you for a very long time after the film is over and there is a great deal to be learned here about human worth.

1.34GB | 1 h 27 min | 698×465 | mkv

https://nitro.download/view/87BF7BC363037B1/Clandestinos.1988.DVDRIP.x264.AC3.KJNU.mkv

Language:Spanish
Subtitles:English, French

The post Fernando Pérez – Clandestinos (1987) first appeared on Cinema of the World.

The film tells the stories of three end-of-the millennium Cubans, whose lives intersect on the Day of Santa Barbara (the African Saint Chango, ruler of destinies). Mariana, a ballerina, ponders breaking chastity vows she made to land the coveted role of Giselle; Julia has fainting spells each time she hears the word “sex,” and Elpidio, a musician, seduces a gringa tourist while Bebe, the narrator, takes us for a taxi ride along the streets of Havana. In Life Is to Whistle, Fernando Perez displays the same cinematographic lyricism that won his first film, Madagascar, the Special Recognition in Latin American Cinema award at the 1996 Sundance Film Festival. Set to the music of Bola de Nieve and Benny More, the film dazzles us with a uniquely Cuban blend of absurdist humor and mystical realism. Perez, who began his film career as assistant director to Tomas Gutierrez Alea and Santiago Alvarez, stands apart from his Cuban counterparts for his ability to portray human dilemmas in quirky, unpredictable ways. Fernando Pérez gives the jaded lives of his characters a new significance through his whimsical, exuberant vision. The film gathered several awards in the International Film Festival Circuit.

1.62GB | 1 h 45 min | 1016×572 | mkv

https://nitro.download/view/1A1F91F5AD8BC0D/Life.is.to.Whistle.1998.DVDRIP.x264.AC3.KJNU.mkv

Language:Spanish
Subtitles:English, German, Chinese

The post Fernando Pérez – La vida es silbar AKA Life is to Whistle (1998) first appeared on Cinema of the World.