Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		4.5
Audio		4.5
Extras		3.5
Overall		3.0

I Am Cuba Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov April 7, 2024

Mikhail Kalatozov's "I am Cuba" (1964) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Criterion. The supplemental features on the release include Vicente Ferraz's recent documentary "I am Cuba, The Siberian Mammoth"; archival program with Martin Scorsese; new program with cinematographer Bradford Young; and vintage trailer. In Spanish or Russian, with optional English subtitles for the main feature. Region-A "locked".

The Soviet authorities produced hundreds of films like I am Cuba that preached communism to the masses. Some were short statistical films that informed about the latest developments brought by collectivist practices across the country and the ongoing industrialization of different branches of its economy. They were full of lies that made various local and state leaders look good before the Party leaders in the Kremlin. Some were military films that praised the might and spirit of the Red Army. They were also full of lies about the technical capabilities of the Red Army. Some were meant for international audiences in the Soviet Bloc, and friendly countries in South America, Africa, and Asia. They promoted the great worker’s paradise that the Party had promised to build and the imperialist forces that opposed it. Some of the most blatant lies and some of the greatest threats were in them.

But none of these films were as ambitious as I am Cuba, which is the Ben-Hur of communist propaganda. I am Cuba was greenlighted by people at the very top of the Party, received massive funding, and was a co-production with Fidel Castro’s government in Cuba. Also, and perhaps most importantly, I am Cuba was shot by a very talented and internationally known director, Mikhail Kalatozov, which meant that it was destined to reach a completely different audience on the other side of the Iron Curtain.

I am Cuba also emerged at a very particular time -- two years after the Cuban Missile Crisis (1962) and four years before the Prague Spring (1968). Unlike the many other communist propaganda films, it was reacting to developments that were already in progress, rather than warning about the possibility of them occurring in the future.

In Cuba, but all over the Soviet Bloc too, there was not a shortage of people who had realized that the Party had pushed the world to the brink of extinction. The Cuban Missile Crisis had created plenty of doubters and dissidents, so I am Cuba was a crucial messenger for the ones Castro’s thugs had not yet identified and terminated, as well as the ones that resided in the Soviet Bloc and elsewhere around the world. In Eastern Europe, there was an active, very well organized student movement that had become extremely critical of the communist leadership in several countries, and I am Cuba was supposed to ensure that internationally young people were still believers in the great worker’s paradise that the Party had promised.

Like many other communist propaganda films, I am Cuba is broken into multiple sections, each carefully scripted, each producing very particular messages. For example, in one of these sections, a farmer who has wished to remain independent, sees the light and joins a communist guerrilla group hiding in the mountains. After he begins killing, a narrator, another common feature in communist propaganda films, explains his actions. “You are not shooting to kill. You are firing at the past. You are firing to protect your future.” In another segment, several guerrilla group members are captured and asked whether Castro is among them. Each answers "I am Fidel”. In another section, a paranoid member of a communist student group ignores directions from its leader and proceeds to take out a high-ranking police officer with a rifle. But at the last moment, he changes his mind because he sees the officer with his family. Soon after, during an improvised demonstration, the young man is killed by his former target, and his death sparks a massive response from the pro-Castro residents of Havana. Two sections target Cuba’s biggest enemy -- the Americans. In pre-Castro Havana, in a nightclub where young local women make money while working as escorts, a lonely beauty is picked up by an American visitor. She takes him back to one of the city’s slums, spends the night with him, and in the morning he pays for her company and a tiny cross she wears that is not for sale. The soulless American must have the cross because he collects them. Then in another part of the city, a group of red-blooded American sailors chase another local beauty, but right before things get ugly, a local hero becomes her savior.

The visual style of I am Cuba is very similar to that of The Cranes Are Flying, which is Kalatozov’s masterpiece. It features many long tracking shots and interesting close-ups that produce some very beautiful visuals. However, the pacing and editing of I am Cuba are quite problematic.

*Kalatozov was a devout communist. (If he was not, he would have never had his films funded and made, or allowed to travel overseas). However, he was not an amoral communist. Had he known about Castro’s atrocities, he almost certainly would have refused to make I am Cuba. But in Soviet Russia, as well as in its satellites, Castro was portrayed as a national hero. It was only during the 1980s that bits of the truth about Castro began emerging there. Similarly, for decades, only a select few knew that Joseph Stalin had exterminated millions of his people.

I Am Cuba Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in an aspect ratio of 1.33:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, I am Cuba arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Criterion.

The release introduces a new 4K restoration of the film, which is also made available on a 4K Blu-ray/Blu-ray combo pack. You can see our listing and review of this release here.

I viewed the new 4K makeover in native 4K, but also spent plenty of time with the 1080p presentation. On my system, the 4K and 1080p presentations looked very similar, and in many areas practically identical. I mentioned in the other review that the 4K presentation can be a tad more convincing in select darker areas, but the discrepancy is not significant and easy to appreciate. Density levels are just as good in 1080p, though you should expect to see fluctuations because the original cinematography provides some segments with a conventional documentary appearance. Image stability is very good. There are no distracting large cuts, debris, warped or torn frames to report. However, I noticed several white specks that could have been removed

I Am Cuba Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There are two standard audio tracks on this Blu-ray release: Spanish LPCM 1.0 and Russian LPCM 1.0. Optional English subtitles are provided for both.

I viewed the entire film with the original Spanish track. While sampling the 1080p presentation, however, I frequently switched to the Russian track. Here are my comments from our review of the 4K Blu-ray release:

Many years ago, my first viewing of I am Cuba was with the Russian track that is included here. It is an unusual track because it is not a conventional dub track. The Russian dub/translation overlaps the Spanish narration/dialog, which makes the viewing experience pretty awkward. I viewed the entire 4K restoration of I am Cuba with the Spanish track. Clarity and stability are good. However, there are a few areas where very mild background hiss can be noticed.

I Am Cuba Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• I am Cuba, The Siberian Mammoth (2004) - presented here is Vicente Ferraz's recent documentary about the production, reception, and rediscovery of I am Cuba in the early 1990s. Ferraz visits modern-day Cuba and interviews various cast and crew members while they help him identify some of the areas where portions of the film was shot. In Portuguese and Spanish, with English subtitles. (92 min).

• Bradford Young - in this new program, cinematographer Bradford Young (Ain't Them Bodies Saints) discusses I am Cuba. The program was produced for Criterion in 2023. In English, not subtitled. (24 min).

• Martin Scorsese - in this archival program, Martin Scorsese explains how he discovered I am Cuba as well as the work he did to redistirbute it in America. The program was produced in 2003. In English, not subtitled. (28 min).

• Trailer - presented here is a remastered trailer for I am Cuba. In English. (2 min).

• Leaflet - an illustrated leaflet featuring an essay by film critic Juan Antonio García Borrero and technical credits.

I Am Cuba Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Fidel Castro exterminated many thousands of his own people to preserve a brutal communist regime that transformed Cuba into one of the poorest countries in the world. As of today, Cuba is still in shambles because of Castro's dark legacy. An enormously ambitious co-production helmed by Soviet director Mikhail Kalatozov, I am Cuba is the Ben-Hur of communist propaganda. It preaches Castro's lies to Cubans and the world with a breathtaking, borderline surreal arrogance. For this, it is perhaps worth seeing because a lot of these lies are resurfacing again. Criterion's upcoming combo pack introduces a recent, very good 4K restoration of I am Cuba, which is also available on 4K Blu-ray.