Lucía Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		4.5
Video		4.0
Audio		4.0
Extras		1.5
Overall		4.5

Lucía Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman October 4, 2020

Note: This film is available as a part of Martin Scorsese's World Cinema Project, No. 3.

Martin Scorsese has been curating the World Cinema Project for around thirteen years now, and the result has been a veritable cornucopia of international films that in some cases Scorsese’s efforts have helped save from the ravages of time (and vinegar syndrome). As of the writing of this review, the World Cinema Project is closing in on fifty restorations that they’ve undertaken, allowing fans to view films that, as even Scorsese himself states in some of the introductions included in this set, have been woefully underappreciated and rarely seen (even a cineaste of Scorsese’s reputation mentions that some of these films were “new” to him courtesy of the World Cinema Project). This third volume of films aggregates six interesting offerings that have at least some subtextual cross connections at times, but which serve as yet another example of what an incredible job the World Cinema Project does in bringing films of undeniable merit to a wider audience.

In my Shirley: Visions of Reality Blu-ray review (note that the link points to a UK release), I mentioned how the film's use of one character moving through time without aging was a bit reminiscent of a little remembered Broadway musical called Hallelujah, Baby! That musical documented the history of African Americans over several decades by having a bunch of characters move through various eras without any "internal" changes, even as their "external" worlds underwent rather dramatic change. Shirley: Visions of Reality attempted to pretty fitful effect to have its title character "move" through a series of frankly static tableaux culled from Edward Hopper paintings, something that kind of divorced the story from time due to Hopper's very visual sensibility. There's something at least a little akin to both Shirley: Visions of Reality and Hallelujah, Baby! going on in Humberto Solás' 1968 effort Lucia, with three different "episodes" set in different eras of Cuba's often skirmish prone history, though it's notable that the film's trio of stories in different time periods actually involves three completely different characters, all of whom bear the name Lucia.

All three of the stories feature "revolutions" of various sorts, with the first section taking place in the late 19th century war of independence Cuba fought with Spain. The second section takes place in the 1930s, when one of the heroes of the war of independence, a general named Machado, had given into some authoritarian tendencies. The last section is set in "196. . .", and kind of interestingly provides a bit of comedy relief in its depiction of Castro's revolution pervading private lives and interactions. There's a novelistic quality to this tale, even if there are only somewhat tangential linkings between the three sections, and the entire film is incredibly stylish courtesy of director Humberto Solás. The underlying tragic nature of at least some of these stories might suggest that the various "Lucias" are types rather than actual human beings, but the stories themselves are generally riveting nonetheless.

Lucía Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Lucia is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of The Criterion Collection with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 1.66:1. Some opening text cards offer the following verbiage on the transfer:

Restored by Cineteca di Bologna at L'Immagine Ritrovata laboratory in association with Instituto Cubano del Arte y Industria Cinematográficos (ICAIC). Restoration funded by Turner Classic Movies and The Film Foundation's World Cinema Project. Special thanks to Bundesarchiv-Filmarchiv and the BFI National Archive.

This restoration utilized the original 35 mm camera and sound negatives and a third genereation dupe positive preserved at the ICAIC. Due to advanced vinegar syndrome, portions of the camera negative were severely melted, warped and buckled, causing the image to lose focus.

Despite undergoing several weeks of drying and softening treatments, some sections of the elements could not be used. These were replaced with a second generation duplicate preserved by the Bundesarchiv-Filmarchiv.

All the elements were wet scanned at 4K resolution to reduce scratches and halos. Lucia was shot on two different stocks - Orwo and Ilford - that were graded according to the different style, tone, and narrative of each episode. Consultation with Raul Rodriguez and Carlos Bequet provided invaluable information for the color grading, which used as a reference a vintage print preserved at the BFI National Archive.

The original soundtrack was in good condition, although inconsistent background noise required careful dynamic noise reduction.

There are some manifest stylistic differences between the episodes, with the first section in particular looking considerably more "arty" than the second and third sections. The first section offers some at times pretty seriously cranked contrast, something that can make whites bloom or, alternatively, kind of fade into each other, something that gives some of the bright outdoor material a kind of hazy, dreamlike quality. Other moments in this first section have more "normalized" contrast, though a gritty ambience can remain. The second and third episodes are more naturalistically filmed, with consistent and "traditional" looking contrast. The grain field can be rather heavy at times, but resolves naturally. There are some signs of age related wear and tear, including quite a few scratches and nicks, along with what are still some obvious signs of frame warping.

Lucía Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Lucia features an LPCM Mono track in the original Spanish. The film has a somewhat stylized soundtrack in addition to its often bracing visuals, and some of the outdoor material in particular has some evocative environmental sounds, as well as in certain moments the clamor of battle. Dialogue is rendered cleanly and clearly throughout and I noticed no obvious signs of age related wear and tear. Optional English subtitles are available.

Lucía Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Martin Scorsese Introduction (1080p; 3:00)


• Humberto & "Lucia" (1080p; 33:38) is culled from a 2014 documentary by Carlos Barba Salva entitled Humberto which features interviews with Humberto Solás, Adela Legra, Eslinda Nunez, Raquel Revuelta, Nelson Rodriguez and Enrique Pineda Barnet. In Spanish with English subtitles.

Lucía Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

In a way, watching Lucia is like getting a "CliffsNotes" redaction of Cuban history, albeit told through the prism of late sixties Castro revolutionary catechism. The film might have flowed a bit better had the first two sections been shortened somewhat and the third expanded, but all three provide great moments for their female stars (Raquel Revuelta, Eslinda Núñez and Adela Legrá), and the film is often incredibly stylish. Technical merits are generally solid, given an understanding of some of the issues encountered as enumerated above. Recommended.