Julien Neaves, Caribbean Head Writer
Context: I have often spoken about my quest to review as much Caribbean content (“Cariwood”) as I can from as many countries as I can. I have covered content from 12 of the 13 sovereign island nations (Antigua and Barbuda, Bahamas, Barbados, Dominica, Dominican Republic, Grenada, Haiti, Jamaica, Saint Kitts and Nevis, St Lucia, St Vincent and the Grenadines, and Trinidad and Tobago. And with this article I complete the list with a film from the 13th sovereign island nation, Cuba, specifically 2017 comedy short La Máquina.
Plot: Written, produced and directed by Adolfo Mena Cejas, the film follows a Cuban family that is informed via telephone by a US Embassy official that they have won the American Visa Lottery. While frustrated mother and wife Lázara Carvajal (Gilda Bello) is excited to leave Cuba her husband Juan (Roque Moreno) wants to stay. Will Lázara abandon her family for a better life in the US?
I had a good time with this one. The acting from both leads is very strong, delivering on the comedic and tender moments. The humour is quite relatable and hits the mark. And while the struggles of life in Cuba is debated the film never truly comes down on either side and leaves it up to the viewer to decide. This adds some depth to proceedings without dragging the light and breezy film into heavy political territory. And while the plot is straightforward it does have a welcome trick up its sleeve (which I will not spoil).
The film’s dialogue is in Spanish and English and features subtitles for both, making it very accessible. And with a brisk runtime of under ten minutes it is very easy to slot into a quick break.
Editor Jules Score: 7.5 out of 10
You can check out La Máquina for yourself by clicking here. And you can check out more Cariwood short film content below:
Julien “Editor Jules” Neaves is a TARDIS-flying, Force-using Trekkie whose bedroom stories were by Freddy Krueger, learned to be a superhero from Marvel, but dreams of being Batman. I love promoting Caribbean film (Cariwood), creating board games and I am an aspiring author. I say things like “12 flavours of awesome sauce”. Read more.