Cebalord Very best movie i ever watch

BootDigest Such a frustrating disappointment

Boobirt Stylish but barely mediocre overall

TaryBiggBall It was OK. I don't see why everyone loves it so much. It wasn't very smart or deep or well-directed.

Framescourer The album, a disc of Cuban music performed by its most popular back-in- the-day exponents was a hit and so Wim Wenders made this film. It visits the performers at home in Havana and thence on the road in Amsterdam and New York. It's an uncomplicated, overlapping-chapter style affair in which the principal half dozen or so tell their stories to a digital camera following them at home, down the street or in the recording studio.There is a small precedent for this film in the remarkable Il bacio di Tosca (Tosca's Kiss) from 1984, which looks at a nursing home run specifically for former opera performers. Yet in that film, the stories are pulled into a synthetic focus by the incongruity of internationally celebrated musicians at the dusk of their lives, just like the rest of us. In Buena Vista the musicians are still performing. But this in itself is not incongruous. Rather, the performers transcend the 'aw, bless' school of appreciation by evincing an understanding of the music - a freshness, would you believe - that suggests that even at their advanced age they have something new to impart through the simply vehicle of common love songs.Wenders paces the film to match the subjects (not a criticism). One must put up with the digital picture quality but the benefit, the relaxed authenticity of the film is sufficient compensation. 6/10

ChrisBagley Great music, interesting musicians and a fascinating project by Ry Cooder.Hand it to Cooder for getting these guys together. But Wenders should have followed Cooder's search in more detail. And for that matter, he might've shown how these great musicians fell into obscurity. Was it some sort of Maoist "Cultural Revolution" that purged Cuban society of supposed classist vestiges? Was it simply that their musical styles were lost in the more recent currents of Cuban music? Most of the storytelling in the film was about the musicians' early years and how they got into music. That was pretty interesting, though not altogether unique. It seems like lots of great musicians have humble beginnings.Did Castro's regime control what Wenders was able to film? If so, the project might have worked better as a book with accompanying music CD.The music is the film's high point. The jam sessions and solo reveries were great, even though virtually all the other music and more is on the CD soundtrack BVSC.

ploeppe A long time fan of Ry Cooder, this was to me another of his explorations into music that is on the verge of being "lost". Music in pre-Castro Cuba was very influential throughout the world; Dizzy Gillespie, the brilliant trumpet player, writer, and innovator drew extensively from these Afro-Cuba rhythms; also other seminal writers such as Gil Evans, Saxophonist Sonny Rollins...Ellington was influenced by his Cuban percussionist Juan Tizol...one could go on for days citing examples of how this Cuban music became part of the progressive North American musicians' lexicon. Even "I Love Lucy" exposed us to Cuban big band rhythms by way of her husband. Bottom line is this-if you are anything of an aficionado of music, this film is a must. If you are an aspiring musician it is indispensable to witness the musical interactions of excellent older musicians that really know what they are about, and that obviously love to play. Now we are seeing a new generation of great Cuban jazz musicians, such as Gonzalo Rubalcaba, Claudio Roditi, Paquito D'Rivera, Pancho Sanchez...the list is almost endless. This movie allows us to see what must have been very influential musical roots. A must see, heck. I own it!

tcubric I would like to start off by saying how angry and distressed i was to read the foul narrow minded commentary by whichever person wrote the review stating that it is the worst documentary and a complete hash in fact i don't blame him/her that much because we are all in titled to our own opinions but IMDb should not have put that as the main page of this movie's commentary. The person who wrote this commentary is obviously incapable of watching and giving credit to anything apart from big budget Hollywood American stereotype films. therefore do not take it as a exact review.Unless you are not a musician it is quite hard to not like this movie. why? because (i have actually forgotten all of their names so if you bare with me)these ageing Cubans don't read music they don't have the best instruments, all except one have not had a musical education they don't have the money to muck around with these things they have been gifted with the basic. An instrument and they go on from there so having taken all of this into account they produce an emotional salsa with beautiful lyrics and sound ,not frankly giving a damn about their badly made instruments they embraced what they had and sheer determination and musical talent and a drop of luck brought them to the prestigious Carnegie hall in new york. most of them hadn't even stepped a foot out of heir own town let alone a different country.And to see their faces when the crowd started applauding is unbelievable you can read their minds they just can not believe that they are there. so as they are walking round New York streets admiring each figure in every glass window they seem like children lost in Disney land but once they have been given their microphone or piano or guitar they come to their own and you give them fully credited respect and they look in control.By America cutting them off from advanced technology of the day all of there cars in the streets are some old Reno's and Beatles paint drying of the city walls bumpy roads the burning sun the public bus made out of old cars and trucks painted pink and their simple humble homes beautiful men and women. and children who are still children not dressing over their age or acting like twenty year old women its almost impossible to not fall under charm of the Cuban people.Yes this documentary was filmed badly with rubbish cameras but doesn't that add to the whole thing? i think so. So if you have actually kept on reading to this point you must have at least some interest in the film then give it a go if you are different and not American glazed then i guarantee you will love it. it is by far the best documentary i have ever seen.