Silent Havana

If you have been to Havana and have been seduced by it, a new film will send you back, it seems. The film is called “Suite Habana” and is described, by The Guardian, as “stark, beautiful…the camerawork and soundtrack take the viewer on a bittersweet trip through the crumbling Cuban capital.” Notably, it’s a silent film, except for a musical soundtrack and city noises. The lack of dialogue has viewers wondering whether the film is a critique of Castro’s Cuba or an ode to the country’s resilience to U.S. hostility. The only way to find out is to visit Havana and see it at the Cine Charles Chaplin, in the Vedado district; it isn’t playing outside the country, yet.

Author: Peter Maass

I was born and raised in Los Angeles. In 1983, after graduating from the University of California at Berkeley, I went to Brussels as a copy editor for The Wall Street Journal/Europe. I left the Journal in 1985 to write for The New York Times and The International Herald Tribune, covering NATO and the European Union. In 1987 I moved to Seoul, South Korea, where I wrote primarily for The Washington Post. After three years in Asia I moved to Budapest to cover Eastern Europe and the Balkans. I spent most of 1992 and 1993 covering the war in Bosnia for the Post. View all posts by Peter Maass