On May 30th, Buena Vista Social Club by Wim Wenders will be back in Italian theaters on the occasion of its first 25 years, taking us to Havana for an immersion in Cuban music. The film will be in the version restored by the Cineteca di Bologna.
On the occasion of its twenty-fifth anniversary, it returns to the cinema, Buena Vista Social Clubthe documentary by Wim Wenders dedicated to Cuban music and embellished with one of the most beautiful soundtracks ever.
It was therefore the year 1999 when it came out Buena Vista Social Club, which was a huge success from the beginning. Now, thanks to the Wim Wenders Foundation, the Cineteca di Bologna, with its project for the distribution of the restored classics Il Cinema Ritrovato. At the cinema, and CG Entertainment bring Buena Vista Social Club back to Italian cinemas from May 30th.
Buena Vista Social Club: the plot
Oscar nominee for best documentary in 2000, Buena Vista Social Club tells of a group of musicians of the Cuban tradition (including, Compay Segundo, Ibrahim Ferrer And Omara Portuondo) which is brought together by the guitarist Ry Cooder (formerly collaborator of Wim Wenders and author of the soundtrack of Paris, Texas) to make a record and go on tour. In the documentary, personal stories and musical journeys are intertwined, while the camera of Wim Wenders captures the talent and joie de vivre of artists who are nothing short of extraordinary.
Wim Wenders and Cuban music
Wim Wenders he has never made a secret of his fascination for Cuban music. When he went to Havana he knew her, but listening to her in Cuba was an unexpected and wonderful experience. Here is her story:
I went to Havana to shoot the film, a place I had never been before. All I knew was the music these old men had made, electrifying, intoxicating, infectious music. Once I saw and filmed Havana, I understood what was so special about this music: it had come out of this city. That music was the blood of this city. The place had transcended into sound, so to speak, found another form of existence in these songs. And these old people knew how to produce and reproduce that history of their place, because they had not abandoned it, like many other musicians before them who had fled the country to go to Florida, Mexico, Spain. Their sense of identity and belonging, the incredible love of their place, which had brought these old men so much pain and suffering, had also proved to be their strength and saving grace. I thought I was shooting a documentary, but instead we were there ready to witness a fairy tale that no one could have imagined.
