Underplayed Gems

De Cierta Manera (1974)

De Cierta Manera poster
Original title
De cierta manera
Directed by
Sara Gómez, Julio García Espinosa, Tomás Gutiérrez Alea
Genre
documentary film, drama film, romance film
Country
Cuba
Runtime
1h 19m
Rating
6.4 of 10 from 31 voters
Elsewhere
IMDb
The 3D catalogue: film cases on wooden shelves, with the cat sitting at the counter next to its greeting.

The catalogue in 3D

The film shelves have a room of their own that you can walk around in. The cat behind the counter is the AI Catbot, and they pick real films from the same catalogue when you tell them what you feel like watching. Nothing is for sale, here or in there. Go in from here and this film is already out on the counter, with more like it waiting on the shelf next to it.

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How it feels

A fictional romance is woven into documentary footage about poor neighborhoods in Havana after the 1959 revolution. It looks at how building new housing does not instantly change the old ways of the people who live there.

observationalreflectivegroundedthoughtfulunderstatedearthyslow-pacedslice-of-life

What happens

One Way or Another (De cierta manera) is a 1977 Cuban romantic drama film. Directed by Sara Gómez, the film mixes documentary-style footage with a fictional story that looks at the poor neighborhoods of Havana shortly after the Cuban Revolution of 1959. The film illustrates the history before the background of the development process in Cuba. It demonstrates how tearing down slums and building modern settlements does not immediately change the culture of the inhabitants. Gómez completed filming with leading actors Mario Balmaseda and Yolanda Cuellar just before her death in June 1974 during the film's post-production. Final work was initially credited to Tomás Gutiérrez Alea and Julio García-Espinosa before its posthumous release in 1977. Later, in 2021, however, editor Iván Arocha said he and cinematographer Luis García concluded the film following her initial plan. It was digitally restored by Arsenal Filminstitut in 2021. (from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA)

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