I Am Cuba

Designed to be Cuba’s answer to Eisenstein’s propaganda masterpiece, Battleship Potemkin, and Godard’s Breathless, this wildly schizophrenic 1964 celebration of Communist kitsch mixes Slavic solemnity with Latin sensuality. Its four stories explore the seductive, decadent, and marvelously photogenic world of Batista’s Cuba, deliriously juxtaposing images of rich Americans and bikini-clad beauties sipping cocktails poolside with scenes of ramshackle slums and the hungry people who live in them. Initially not seen in the US for decades and now newly restored, I Am Cuba is one of the great discoveries in cinema. 4K restoration.