Films:
Sat 31 8.30pm The Courtyard Hereford
Fri 30 7.30pm Ludlow Assembly Rooms
Habana Blues (15)
Director: Benito Zambrano
Starring: Alberto Joel Garcia Osorio,
Roberto Sanmartin, Yailene SierraSpain/France/Cuba, 2005,
1 hour 55 minutes, subtitles
A cheerful, lively portrait of two musicians frustrated by their lack of opportunities who see their big chance when they meet some Spanish producers who've come to Cuba looking for talent. There's a real flavour of how people cope in contemporary Havana, and a great soundtrack - for a change these are not some old guys playing 'son', but young guys who play blues, rock and hiphop. Zambrano delicately draws the complexity of their lives - Tito lives with his straight-talking, cigar-smoking, Grandma, Ruy with his girlfriend and their two kids - the tensions in the band, their passion for their music and the difficult decisions they're faced with, but above all shines the warmth of their friendship. A bittersweet gem.