Havana was dealt a good hand with a cast featuring Lena Olin (The Unbearable Lightness of Being), Raul Julia, and Robert Redford; Sydney Pollack at the helm; and a beautiful set shot in an expansive, exquisite style. However this hand was somewhat misplayed by the screenwriter and the headliners (Redford and Pollack).
What a romantic story line Havana boasts: a jaded poker player seeks out "the big game" amidst the turmoil of the Cuban Revolution but is diverted from his plans by an enchanting, married revolutionary.
I was particularly intrigued by the undercurrent of conspiratorial communist plots and sinister CIA schemes. Unfortunately, the film failed to derive much tension from these elements...
Spoilers. Was smuggling explosives into Batista-era Cuba really as easy as switching drivers in plain sight? Why is the CIA spook so blase about his cover that he seeks Jack out to say good-bye? And wasn't it obvious that Jack's "rainy day" diamond was going to be used to purchase Arturo's release? Plus, would it even be worth enough at a time when (as the film noted) fleeing refugees flooded the markets with their valuables? Spoilers end. ...neither does the film build tension to a satisfactory crescendo using other plot elements: the poker fell flat (Redford does not deliver in these scenes) and thus left me wondering what was so compelling about the "big game" anyway; the language/cultural barrier was strangely never a challenge to Jack, neither when facing the military police nor in finding his way along unfamiliar roads in a war zone; and the revolutionaries did not seem at all threatening to Joe or Jack (or to the card players as someone has mentioned.)
Nevertheless, I liked Havana for it's alluring visuals and romance reminiscent of Casablanca. If not for the botched handling of the various tensions (mainly political) swirling around in Havana, I might have felt the same sympathetic release of emotion for the lovers and the freedom fighters that I do when I watch Curtiz' classic. But Redford's voice-over narratives do make wonderful first and last impressions.
I can recommend Havana for fans of love stories but not for fans of poker or political thrillers. Too bad that a film with all the elements plays out so poorly that it went bust with audiences.
What a romantic story line Havana boasts: a jaded poker player seeks out "the big game" amidst the turmoil of the Cuban Revolution but is diverted from his plans by an enchanting, married revolutionary.
I was particularly intrigued by the undercurrent of conspiratorial communist plots and sinister CIA schemes. Unfortunately, the film failed to derive much tension from these elements...
Spoilers. Was smuggling explosives into Batista-era Cuba really as easy as switching drivers in plain sight? Why is the CIA spook so blase about his cover that he seeks Jack out to say good-bye? And wasn't it obvious that Jack's "rainy day" diamond was going to be used to purchase Arturo's release? Plus, would it even be worth enough at a time when (as the film noted) fleeing refugees flooded the markets with their valuables? Spoilers end. ...neither does the film build tension to a satisfactory crescendo using other plot elements: the poker fell flat (Redford does not deliver in these scenes) and thus left me wondering what was so compelling about the "big game" anyway; the language/cultural barrier was strangely never a challenge to Jack, neither when facing the military police nor in finding his way along unfamiliar roads in a war zone; and the revolutionaries did not seem at all threatening to Joe or Jack (or to the card players as someone has mentioned.)
Nevertheless, I liked Havana for it's alluring visuals and romance reminiscent of Casablanca. If not for the botched handling of the various tensions (mainly political) swirling around in Havana, I might have felt the same sympathetic release of emotion for the lovers and the freedom fighters that I do when I watch Curtiz' classic. But Redford's voice-over narratives do make wonderful first and last impressions.
I can recommend Havana for fans of love stories but not for fans of poker or political thrillers. Too bad that a film with all the elements plays out so poorly that it went bust with audiences.