I Am Cuba (1964)

Highly Recommended

Cuba/Soviet Union

Feature Film

Original Title: Soy Cuba

Director: Mikhail Kalatozov

Writers: Enrique Pineda Barnet, Evgueny Evtushenko

Cinematographer: Sergei Urusevsky

Composer: Carlos Fariñas

Cast: Sergio Corrieri, Salvador Wood, José Gallardo, Raúl García, Luz María Collazo, Raquel Revuelta

Although its championing of martyrdom leaves something of a bad taste, the film’s general rightness – an attack against tyranny, exploitation, and nefarious foreign interest – and the sheer poetic brilliance of its cinematic technique, make watching this fourth (and unfortunately final) collaboration between Kalatozov and Urusevsky an overwhelmingly memorable experience. Iain.Stott