KnotMissPriceless Why so much hype?

Jeanskynebu the audience applauded

Suman Roberson It's a movie as timely as it is provocative and amazingly, for much of its running time, it is weirdly funny.

Kaelan Mccaffrey Like the great film, it's made with a great deal of visible affection both in front of and behind the camera.

hollands-2 I have shown this video to my Spanish classes for the last several years and it has been accepted with eager minds. It is hard for these students to understand that there is a place so close to the US that will not permit their citizens the freedom that we enjoy. The music is great and Garcia does an excellent job playing the lead role. My students would like to rewrite the ending and may it happier but I explained that in the real world things like this are happening all the time. I hope that someday I will be able to meet Mr. Sandavol. He is coming to my home town in April but I will not be able to attend his concert because I will be in Miami for a wedding that same week-end. Since I am a trumpet player also and about his age, it would be a great opportunity to make is acquaintance.

jotix100 This biopic about the great Cuban trumpet player Arturo Sandoval was probably made because of its star, Andy Garcia's interest in music from his homeland. Otherwise, this HBO film probably wouldn't have made it into a commercial vehicle. As directed by Joseph Sargent, the film is mildly pleasant to watch.Not having been an Andy Garcia fan, one must say, that he gives a convincing performance as Arturo, the man at the center of the action. His love for the gorgeous Marianela, played also with gusto by the gorgeous Mia Maestro, seems to have been what propelled him into seeking a new life in the United States.At times, the film doesn't make much political sense. Arturo Sandoval was able to tour the world under the Castro regime without taking the stand he makes at the end. Of course, everything is conveniently explained about how if he wouldn't have toed the line, he wouldn't have even played, let alone go abroad, for fear he would defect. The fear of not being able to be reunited with his wife and son is what keeps him from making a clean break, or so it seems. Of course, one realizes this is a fictionalized account of Mr. Sandoval's life made to please a wide audience.Mr. Sandoval's friendship with Dizzy Gillespie gets a lot of attention, yet, one wonders if that was the case. The incident where Mr. Sandoval takes Mr. Gillespie in his jalopy to meet the great Chano Pozo, is a figment of the film makers imagination. At the same time, no one seemed to know who Chano Pozo, perhaps one of the best Cuban musicians of all time, was! Also questionable is the fact that Mr. Sandoval's relationship with Paquito D'Rivera was what it's made to be in the film. Mr. D'Rivera shows a lot more courage by defecting at the first opportunity even though his own family would be penalized and stayed behind for many years, punished by the totalitarian regime in that unhappy island.As biopics go, this film is somewhat enjoyable, but it remains a work of fiction.

esteban1747 Who gave the information of this biography? this looked to be very doubtful, and the Cubans may easily argue that this is what they simply call a 'folleton'. The Artemisa man Sandoval is a person that, within the time living in a Cuban system, understood that it was not good for his future and life of his family, but to put him as a 'contra' when he was a young man is doubtful. I saw the first half of the film then gave up because this looked to me DOUBTFUL. If you read the book of another Cuban musician Paquito D' Rivera, 'Mi vida Saxual', you will note that Sandoval was friendly with Paquito but not to share the same political ideas during the 70s as it is shown in the film. It is also a non sense to show the people from the Ministry of Culture in Cuba not knowing the musician Chano Pozo at all, and letting Arturo take away Gillespie (without official authorization)in his 'car' once he arrived in Cuba. The only part, which looked to me real was the the talk between Arturo and the American officer at the USA Embassy in London when Arturo wanted to leave Cuba because the officer raised the right questions.

Minofed Andy Garcia is one of the most underrated actors of our generation. So it's a pleasure to report that in "For Love or Country: The Arturo Sandoval Story," Garcia gives an Emmy Award worthy performance. Sandoval was a Cuban trumpeter whose talents caught the eye of a touring Dizzy Gillespie, played by the talented Charles Dutton. Gillespie that helped Sandoval, and ultimately Sandoval's family, escape to the United States. The framework for the film is Sandoval pleading his case for asylum with U.S. embassy interviewer David Paymer. Garcia executive produced the film, and he obviously feels passionately about the plight of Sandoval and other musicians in Cuba who felt stifled by the Castro regime's attempts to dictate what kind of music they played. This view is understandable, since Garcia is Cuban-American. The problem is that Paymer continually asks why Sandoval feels he should be granted asylum, and Garcia can't come up with a good enough answer. Certainly Sandoval suffered financially in Cuba, as almost everyone else has. And certainly his musical freedom of expression suffered under Communism. But just as Garcia can't convince Paymer to grant his request for asylum (Gillespie eventually intercedes on his behalf) he fails to convince us.