Hottoceame The Age of Commercialism

Protraph Lack of good storyline.

Kaelan Mccaffrey Like the great film, it's made with a great deal of visible affection both in front of and behind the camera.

Lucia Ayala It's simply great fun, a winsome film and an occasionally over-the-top luxury fantasy that never flags.

valis1949 WHO THE HELL IS JULIETTE? is a flimsy premise for a film, however it certainly demonstrates how an astute director can present a non-linear story with a maximum of artistic beauty and emotional warmth. Carlos Marcovich has created a most unusual quasi-documentary about the making of one of his music videos in Cuban during the early 1990's. To ramp up the sex appeal for this nondescript power ballad, he included sultry fashion model, Fabiola Quiroz. And, while in the process of filming, they met a quirky gamine by the name of Yuliet Ortega who is every bit as sexy. WHO THE HELL IS JULIETTE? meanders through the histories and back stories of the principle characters, and haphazardly reveals their personalities. And, also the movie examines the lives of people who just happen to wander by as the film is being shot. Much of the movie is gorgeously photographed on location in Havana, and the sun, sky, sex, and sea blend to create a heady concoction more potent than a very strong Cuba Libre. Yuliet is a real life character like nothing that has been seen on film. Probably she is a prostitute, but has such a bright and irreverent personality, that is is nearly impossible not to fall for her charms. She is equal parts smoldering sex siren, and headstrong and intransigent adolescent, and although she lives a very complicated life in an infamous Cuban barrio, she seems to give as good as she gets. WHO THE HELL IS JULIETTE? probably will offend as many viewers as it captivates, but I found the film a refreshing and spirited look at very low budget, almost tacky, tropical hedonism.

groggo This doc won a lot of awards, largely, I think, because it's 'different,' in that it doesn't follow the usual narrative arc of documentary film-making. Its greatest achievement, in my mind, is that it doesn't rely on the usual rogue's gallery of talking heads that consume three-quarters of most documentaries. Depending on your mood, 'Who the Hell, etc.' can be engaging and even dazzling. Some of the cinematography, particularly around Havana's iconic Malecon seawall, is spectacular. When I discovered that Mexican director Carlos Marcovich is a music video specialist, why was I not surprised? The film is loaded with signature cinematography that appeals to the MTV mobs: panorama shots, razzle-dazzle hand-held work, fast cuts and clips, alternating black&white/colour, faces that suddenly appear and speak, five different locations (we're not sure at one point if we're in Mexico City or Havana), and a 'story line' that is often confusing.Juliette is, in 1995, a 16-year-old Havana prostitute who is a study in contrasts. Her mother died violently when she was two years old, and her father left for the U.S. a year earlier. She is a child of the streets who can be be endearingly playful yet often irritating; she mixes delightful youthfulness with a maturity beyond her years. Toward the end of the film, she finally goes to Mexico City to visit her father Victor, whom she has not seen since she was a year old. Needless to say, it's an awkward reunion.This can be interesting film, particularly when the often-impish Juliette tries to explain her philosophy of being. In the end, we can answer the question 'Who is Juliette?' by saying, 'We're not really sure because she doesn't know who she is herself, but she's trying'.A huge let-down on the DVD extras is a 2006 update on Juliette, replete with footage of an ailing Fidel Castro. But it's entirely in Spanish, with no subtitles, and my rudimentary knowledge of the language left me befuddled. It was a huge -- and insulting -- mistake by the distributors, who had no trouble providing full subtitles for the film itself. This often happens with extras on DVDs -- crucial subtitles are missing. It's inexcusable.

mifunesamurai An appropriate festival film that tackled the senses with its incorporated style of documentary, feature film and music clip. The story of a sixteen year old Cuban girl is told through some stunning photography, flashy editing and a MTV style of camera work, (really, Godard was doing this with BREATHLESS in 1959). The life of Juliette, (or is it Yuliette?), crosses paths with a model. They star in a video clip together and the story spreads from there as they both dwell on their lives and the whereabouts of their fathers. I realised midway through that I was grinning at the cheekiness the director, Carlos Marcovich, was up to with a story well told but possibly too long. And from where I was sitting there was a fair few people heading for the exit. They didn't seem to have the patience for the cheeky Juliette, or for that matter, the style of the direction.

Moro This is one of those films that makes you feel that the battle of creativity is not lost, and that Hollywood will not reign if there are filmmakers as Carlos Marcovich. This film is unique, is original, is fresh, is sincere.