Summary
Havana, Cuba, 1990. René González, an airplane pilot, unexpectedly flees the country, leaving behind his wife Olga and his daughter Irma, and begins a new life in Miami, where he becomes a member of an anti-Castro organization.
Cast
Penélope Cruz
Olga
Edgar Ramírez
René
Gael García Bernal
Viramontez
Ana de Armas
Ana Margarita
Wagner Moura
Roque
Leonardo Sbaraglia
Basulto
Nolan Guerra Fernández
Cruz León
Osdeymi Pastrana Miranda
Irma
Tony Plana
Luis Posada Carriles
Julian Flynn
PUND's Pilot
Anel Perdomo
Viramontez's Wife
Julio Gabay
Roque's Cousin
Amada Morado
Tete
Leandro Cáceres
Panzón
Ernesto Ruiz Faxas
René's FBI Contact
Harlys Becerra
CANF Activist #1
Gabriel Buenaventura
CANF Activist #2
Carolina Peraza Matamoros
Irma (6 Years Old)
Juan Carlos Roque Moreno
Colonel Rabeiro
Edwin Fernández
Officer Caballero
Feliberto Beatón
Officer Estrada
Javier Guillarte Fernández
State Security Agent with Olga
Yura López
Immigration Agent with Olga
Raúl Bravo
René's Brother
Elbert Álvarez
Tannery Manager
Philip Stanton
Inglés Ahora Boss
Omar Ali
Jorge Mas Canosa
Juan Ángel Samper
Castro's Envoy
Chris Gillette
Bill Clinton's Advisor #1
Stephen William Tenner
Bill Clinton's Advisor #2
René Flinn
Bill Clinton's Envoy to Cuba
Adria Perez
Judge
Carlos Leal
Narrator (voice)
Saúl Rojas
Raúl Labanino Salazar
Noslen Sánchez
Fernando González
Denys Ramos Antúnez
Antonio Guerrero
Alberto González Corona
Joseph Santos
Dánae Hernández Reyes
Amarylis Silveiro
Yasmani Guerrero
Nilo Hernández
Yaité Ruiz
Linda Hernández
Luis A. Batista
Pilot Cessna #1
Miguel Ángel García
Co-pilot Cessna #1
Daniel Romero Pildaín
Pilot Cessna #2
Luis Miguel B.
Co-pilot Cessna #2
Abel López Cedre
Basulto's Co-pilot
Teherán Aguilar
Anti-Castroist Commando #1
Armando Palma
Anti-Castroist Commando #2
Egor Viga
Anti-Castroist Commando #3
Thomas Michael Dubyna
Guantánamo Base US Officer #1
Ruairi Rhodes
Guantánamo Base US Officer #2
Brendan McNamee
FBI Agent - Stakeout #1
Rob Harvie
FBI Agent - Stakeout #2
Michael Strelow
FBI Agent - Stakeout #3
Brannon Cross
US Coast Guard
Adri Torrijos
FBI Agent #1
Jhoey Carol
FBI Agent #2
Ilianki Vera Rivero
Cuban Airbase Controller
Jorge Reinaldo Ramírez Fernández
Cuban Airbase Officer
Armando Suávez Cobián
Havana Airport Controller
Steve Howard
US Airbase Controller
Lorenzo Rodríguez César
Havana Airport Customs Agent
Antulio Marín
Cruz León's Taxi Driver
Colin Laverty
Luis Posada Carriles' Interviewer #1
Gregory Binowski
Luis Posada Carriles' Interviewer #2
Yailene Sierra
Luis Posada Carriles' Interviewer #3
Patricia González Ciuffardi
Roque's Interviewer
Juan Jacomino
René's Press Conference
Alexander Meneghini
René's Press Conference
Michael Weissenstein
Basulto's Press Conference
Patrick Perry Oppman
Basulto's Press Conference
Will Grant
Basulto's Press Conference
Johanna Sol
Newscaster at Wedding
Giuseppe Scarfari
Italian Victim
Luisa Marcolina Ausenda
Italian Tourist #1
Gabriele Filippone
Italian Tourist #2
Yanelis Tejera
Hotel Capri Concierge
Casandra Lungu
Nurse
María del Carmen Muina
Lady on Plane
Pilar Varo
Gladys
Jade Kayla Lage Maynier
Ivett (18 Months)
Leia Sarmiento
Baby Yvett
Alma Shamira Parilla
Baby Yvett
Bill Clinton
Self (archive footage)
Roberto Robaina
Self (archive footage)
Fidel Castro
Self (archive footage)
Crew
Director, Screenplay
Olivier Assayas
Book
Fernando Morais
Reviews
Geronimo1967
March 27, 2022
5
Given the intriguing story and really good cast behind this, it ought to have been good. It isn't. It meanders all over the place with way too many plots, sub plots and storylines all ambling about devoid of a solid narrative. It could be a six-parter if it wanted to be, but as a single film it just doesn't really gel at all. Olivier Assayas clearly has some skin in the game as he sets out to interweave the political and personal stories of 5 Cubans who end up, by various means, in Florida in the 1990s. Tourist pilot Edgar Ramirez ("Rene") is one of then, who leaves home and stunningly gorgeous wife Penelope Cruz ("Olga") one day, pinches a plane and defects to the US where, together with "Juan Pablo" (Wagner Moura) he is soon part of a network that effectively tries to assist Cuban defectors to get to the USA. Their determination to destabilise the Castro administration starts to lead them into more complex, moral choices whilst we continue to see his wife struggling with day to day life back home with their daughter. That's just the first half hour... There are plenty more characters, and storylines; CIA involvement; the infamous hotel bombs of 1997 - all told in a rigidly episodic fashion. It is trying to cram way too much into two hours and as such the characterisations suffer. It's not that you don't like or sympathise with them, it's that you don't ever feel you really know or understand them - Gael García Bernal as the equivalent of "Control" somehow lacks any menace or sophistication too. There is some beautiful photography of the island of Cuba itself, and of the Canary Islands, and it looks great, the cast look great, but it needed much more focus and much tighter plot filtration.
Media
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