“Mambo Man” by MO FINI and EDESIO ALEJANDRO

“Mambo Man” is a film that can wrap viewers in a warm dreamy and nostalgic atmosphere. This happens immediately, from the very first minutes, when the guitar strings begin to vibrate and the magnificent, humble and ancient Cuban land is the protagonist of passionate shots. This film doesn’t just tell a story, in fact. It is a kind of monument. A work destined to last potentially forever, because it is the expression of an entire culture, of an entire people. In fact, the history of JC mixes and spreads in the infinite branches of the history, music and people of Cuba. It is not an excuse to tell this country, but rather a symbol, which wishes to collect the legacy of a wonderful culture. And “Mambo Man” manages to communicate total, wide suggestions that seem to bring even the scent of that land to us.

The film is played very well by its actors: real faces, framed with reverence and awareness. But there is another protagonist who in this film stands out for its majesty: music. The film, like Cuba itself, is crossed by vibrant, vivid compositions that have always expressed and collected the feelings of Cubans. Mo Fini and Edesio Alejandro, with inspiration and great inspiration, manage to extract beauty from the very material of this nation. There is no indiscreet aesthetic research, a spectacular photograph or dizzying camera movements. There is rather the mature and conscious gaze of two authors who want to represent Cuba, and the story of the protagonist, with truth and love. With this awareness, each shot conveys a charm superior to that of a good staging. This film, made with passion, penetrates the audience to the rhythm of music and tells us about a whole, small, precious universe, absorbing its beauty and misery. “Mambo Man” is a bit like Cuba: beautiful, kind and melancholic.