Steineded How sad is this?

BoardChiri Bad Acting and worse Bad Screenplay

Brenda The plot isn't so bad, but the pace of storytelling is too slow which makes people bored. Certain moments are so obvious and unnecessary for the main plot. I would've fast-forwarded those moments if it was an online streaming. The ending looks like implying a sequel, not sure if this movie will get one

Raymond Sierra The film may be flawed, but its message is not.

jarlentjilenzi This movie is for people who have been in love or like watching movies about love. Though this movie isn't your cliché type of love story (it also contains aspects on the Cuban revolution) the chore of the movie revolves around love.The movie is about a simple man (Jack) who visits Havana because he loves to gamble, to meet the woman (Roberta) that would change his outlook and life forever. She fights for the resistance, against Batista, while he's not into politics at all. She's married with a man (Arturo) that is the head of the resistance in Havana. When Arturo gets kidnapped and is considered killed, Jack and Roberta have the chance to fall in love. But Jack finds out that Arturo is still alive and faces the choice of letting Roberta go or staying quite...This is one of the most real, deep and touching love stories I have seen. It contains beautiful poetic dialogues and the acting is great. A beautiful story about the meaning of love, sacrifice combined with the Cuban revolution.

Lee Eisenberg It often seems like some critics chastise Sydney Pollack for inserting too much political commentary into his movies. "Havana" would be a prime example. It features frequent Pollack star Robert Redford* as a gambler who goes to Cuba's capital during the last few days of 1958, when the revolution is about to triumph. On the way there, he meets Lena Olin, the wife of revolutionary fighter Raul Julia. Over the course of the movie, Redford and Olin not only develop a relationship, but he comes to understand why the revolution is happening.Maybe the movie does go just a little overboard on politicking. But I would like to pose a question: are we supposed to focus on these sorts of things and totally ignore politics? Would the world be a better place if everyone just blindly accepted every piece of government propaganda? Because it seems to me that part of democracy is that people are supposed to challenge the government if they think that the latter is lying. Therefore, I have to commend Sydney Pollack for doing that in "Havana".Another thing is that it seems like this movie was a semi-remake of Richard Lester's "Cuba", starring Sean Connery as a British agent sent there on the verge of the revolution's triumph and discovering the status quo. Even if it is, I still recommend it.Also starring Alan Arkin (his character is very likely to make your skin crawl) and Richard Farnsworth.*Interestingly, they haven't collaborated since this movie.

erniemunger Still boyish Redford plays Jack Weil, a professional gambler who falls in love with a Swedish-American-Mexican (?) expat when turning up in Batista-era Cuba to deal the hand of his life. Tough luck, as the lady (Lina Olin as Roberta Duran, who delivers a worthy effort) is married to a local revolutionary. When Roberta and her husband Arturo are arrested by the regime, Jack's life takes a turn. Sounds like a good plot with all the ingredients that make for a great historic romance? Sure, but Pollack's handling of the matter is far from brilliant. For one, the set looks quirky at all times and no attempts at Film Noir lighting would change that. It actually starts with the art deco typeset in the opener, which is rather reminiscent of late seventies' Florida decadence than of pre-revolutionary Cuba. Too slick all the way, as are the character depictions. Unlike similar movies where the characters' inner turmoil is echoed by the chaos that surrounds them (most famously, "Gone with the Wind"), "Havana" never comes to grips with the setting it has chosen. From there on (and maybe even as a direct result thereof), the rest is mainly static, phoney and unconvincing, as is, most notably, the depiction of army manouevres. SPOILER: At some point, two cranky airplanes drop their bombs on an empty corn field, even prompting the character of Lina to wonder aloud who they're shooting at... Unwittingly hilarious. Partly reminiscent of "Under the Volcano" (Mexican revolution, decadence, impossible love affair...), though that was at least partly redeemed by a grand finale. And yes, it is clearly a (sad) remake of "Casablanca". And no, despite the heavy-handed hint in the dialogues, Olin is not Garbo.

tcabarga Many viewers have noted that Havana is essentially Casablanca in the Caribbean, which is certainly true. But I found the same apocalyptic tension in Havana as in Casablanca, although not quite as effective the second time around. Others criticized the dialogue. I thought it was exceptionally mature, and subtle, which may be what threw some of the reviewers in this forum, who maybe would have wanted something more bombastic. The plot development was very compressed - things had to happen very quickly, and so some thought they happened far too quickly. But I thought Olin in particular showed all of the pain and turmoil necessary to make her quick transitions of emotion believable. You have to believe that the times were so tumultuous that people had to adjust very quickly to changing circumstances. As for Jack falling in love with Bobby so fast, that's entirely believable, and the look they exchanged at the party where Jack meets her husband for the first time was our signal that this love affair was happening, and was one of those insane passions that overtake people, not infrequently, and in this case, again, against the apocalyptic backdrop of this incipient revolution, which made all involved feel very much at loose ends, ready for, or dreading, the vast changes about to happen to them. I though the end was too dragged out, but other than that, the movie mostly plausible.