My dad lent me this movie last weekend and we got to watch it a couple of days ago. It was pretty good. It is a fictional story (I think) based on the events surrounding the communist takeover in Cuba.
The basic plot is about a fairly wealthy family who owns a large farm and other businesses. One of the three sons, Fico Fellove (Andy Garcia), runs a nightclub in Havanna. The cruel dictator, Battista, is eventually run out of the country (only after one of Fico's brothers is killed by the secret police for his involvement in an assassination attempt) . The other brother joins the communist opposition party and becomes part of a band of rebels lead by Che Guevara.
As we all know, Fidel Castro then took control of the country. He didn't hold an election because he said that the people "had already chosen." The communists slowly choked out the way of life for everyone in Havanna. They seized private family properties, closed down businesses, murdered anyone they believed to have been a supporter of the former dictator, and limited the exit visas allowed to their own citizens.
What do you do when the farm that has been in your family for generations is seized by an (unelected) government "for the greater good"? What about when you're no longer able to operate your own business because of a government-controlled union or a false pretext used to close the business down? Fico eventually fled to New York City to begin a new life.
I think the story is really sad and probably rings very true for many dislocated Cubans. Just another reason why (even with all of our own problems), I'm so thankful to be an American!
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