Matt Saldaña ·
3 Apr 2009, 11:17 AM ·
Comment
Before presenting the world premier of SONS OF CUBA at Full Frame last night, British director Andrew Lang announced he had completed the final cut just three days earlier. “You spend weeks in the editing room and you wonder if anyone’s going to see it,” he said, gazing out at a packed Fletcher Hall audience. By the film’s completion, audience members were cheering for its three young protagonists, competing in Cuba’s Under-12’s boxing tournament, and hoping for a chance at future Olympic glory.
But aside from a thrilling blow-by-blow conclusion to months of agonizing training, the film focused largely on the personal relationships among the young fighters, who revealed themselves emotionally in a distinctly Cuban fashion. The boys fell asleep on each other’s laps on a bus ride to the tournament, embraced each when they learned who made the final cut, cried in their mothers’ (and fathers’) arms, and hung their heads with sadness after defeating their opponents in the ring. In short, it wasn’t the boxing film you might have expected.
That sat just fine with the audience, who shared in moments of strife, and humor, under the captivating backdrop of a 50-year-old Socialist Revolution. “Were people so close because they were Socialist?” Lang said he asked his Cuban crew. No, it’s simply because they are Cuban, came the definitive response. But Lang said he’s still convinced it’s a combination of several factors, and his film succeeded in capturing this nuance without being heavy-handed. When one boxer’s father–a former boxing legend who must hacer la botella (hitchhike) to see his son compete–said his president is God, and Fidel Castro, we know he has mixed feelings about both, as he reflects on his national glory, and impoverished lot in life.
Full Frame Sons of Cuba
David Fellerath ·
3 Apr 2009, 9:01 AM ·
Comment
Catch your literal, not metaphorical, Zs in 90 minutes of Zizou, Zizou and more Zizou in ZIDANE
Difficult as it may be to believe—especially as I look at the standing water in my front lawn—but the weather we’ve seen for the festival thus far is better than last year’s, when a deluge of Biblical proportions made the festival seem if it were happening underwater. Actually, we needed that rain badly, and by the end of the weekend, area reservoirs were back to 100 percent capacity.
A big crowd turned out for SONS OF CUBA, the official opening night film. Andrew Lang’s straightforward kids-in-competition doc movingly showed the love and passion of his characters, who otherwise have little besides boxing, baseball, music and La Revolución.
Prior to the film, Full Frame Executive Director Peg Palmer gave opening remarks that contained the expected gracious homilies, but her address was also notable for its steely undertone as she assured Durhamites that although sponsors may come and go (we think she’s looking at you, New York Times), the festival will carry on. After Palmer spoke, Sadie Tillery received a warm reception as she made her debut as the festival’s programming director.
We’ve got a big full day of movie-watching that we’re fixing an extra pot of coffee for. Two of the festival’s more ballyhooed titles play today, back to back in Fletcher Hall: at 4 p.m., THE YES MEN FIX THE WORLD; at 7 p.m., FOOD, INC.
There’s so much to choose from elsewhere: Our pick hits for the earlybirds: NC State grad Robert Greene’s OWNING THE WEATHER, preceded by THE FLYING SHEPHERD at 10:15 am; Sundance hit THE WAY WE GET BY, preceded by Indy hit MA BAR, at 10:30 am. Me? I’m checking out RED RACE at 11.
The highlight of my day, however, is going to be ZIDANE, a radically obsessive portrait of the great French soccer player Zinedine Zidane (who is unfortunately best known in this non-soccer-loving country for his headbutt of an opponent in the 2006 World Cup final).
Here’s today’s schedule.
Film, Full Frame Food, Inc, Owning the Weather, Red Race, Sons of Cuba, The Yes Men Fix the World, Zidane
