Fidel Castro

Fidel Castro Up-Close
(But Not Personal)

by Esther Iverem
SeeingBlack.com Editor and Film Critic

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Whatever your view of him, Fidel Castro is undoubtedly one of the most important political figures of the 20th century. By waging a successful socialist revolution in an underdeveloped country, one that has managed to survive fierce opposition from the United States, he is both denounced by global capitalists and beloved by people in national liberation movements around the world. He has achieved one-name status.

It is actually quite an accomplishment that, despite derogatory coverage of Castro and Cuba by Western, global media, the force of the Cuban leader's personality, humor and charisma has still emerged. From his debut on the international stage in the 1950's as the bearded, fatigue-wearing and cigar-smoking revolutionary, to his most recent period as the white-haired, avuncular old lion, he has always been conscious of the power of the media to convey both his image and message. In the process, he has appealed to average Americans—with no particularly political bent—who admire him like they would a dashing, courageous hero in a summer action flick.

It is Fidel the human that Estela Bravo captured over nine years and boiled down to 91 minutes in this moving and enjoyable documentary. From the opening scene on the beach, where we are privy to seeing the old general's naked belly, to the end, when Castro expresses his willingness to die for the Cuban people, this is a close-up view of the man—(well, as close-up as he would allow). And it is a view that nonetheless ties his life to the modern history of Cuba.

Bravo accomplishes this view with good storytelling, great footage, including exclusive video and film from the Cuban State Archives, and an approach to her subject that is obviously sympathetic. She begins with his childhood as the son of a poor Spanish immigrant who became a wealthy sugar planter. In interviews, his brother recalls him as a child, as does his high school teachers and friends. One of the funniest moments is an interview with his friend, the novelist Gabriel Garcia Marquez, who in explaining Castro's competitive nature, tells of his insistence on prolonging a fishing trip until he had caught the most fish.

Such occasional insights typically come from people on the periphery of the adult man and leader. While such personal glimpses are scarce, they prevent this film from turning into a rah-rah Fidel flick. Much of it shows how the path of Castro's life parallels that of his country.

Well educated, he attended college in Havana and became a student organizer. As an activist lawyer, he was jailed when his plot to overthrow the corrupt regime of Fulgencio Bastista was thwarted by armed soldiers. Upon his early release, he exiled himself to Mexico, where along with a young Argentine doctor, Che Guevara, he plotted a new offensive against Batista. That insurgency, which began in 1956 and lasted three years, culminated in his triumphant return to Havana in 1959.

The achievements, failures and crises of post-revolutionary Cuba are recounted here, from the Russian missile crisis and the Bay of Pigs to the hard-fought building of a socialist economy, especially after the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991 and the tightening of the U.S. embargo against the country. The "special period" that Cuba has endured since, with a 60-percent drop in exports and a 70-percent decline in imports, has strained the country, just as it has creased Castro's face with lines and fatigue.

Finally, the saga of Elian Gonzalez, a young Cuban boy who was the lone survivor of a Cuban refugee boat wreck that claimed his mother's life, too, seemed to galvanize the Cuban people, not only behind their country but also behind their leader, who was fierce in his determination to have the 6-year-old returned to his father in Cuba.

The Cuban people know very little about Castro's private life and this film doesn't expand on it. At some point, the documentary is content to repeat what is said to be the common wisdom among Cubans—that Castro has eight children, eight grandchildren and has been married for 30 years. Watching the film, we are left to wonder if these are facts or fiction. Obviously, for security reasons—he lives under the threat from the right-wing Cuban exile community in Miami—the film does not provide a sense of his home life. At some point, he simply states that his life as a revolutionary has not been conducive to family life.

The omission of more information about his private life, as well as scant attention paid to Cuba's crisis with tourism and re-emergent racism, are the film's considerable shortcomings. But Bravo has compiled such an impressive document of Castro's life that even such major omissions seem small.

Esther Iverem's reviews can also be found on the lifestyle and movies pages of BET.com

-- September 10, 2001

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