Soy Cuba

Soy Cuba is a film composed of 4 mini sections that gave the viewer true insight into Cuba during the revolutionary period. The film is broken down into 4 stories, the first, a story of Americans in a Cuban night club, where the more liberal American pays a young dancer in the night club to go to her meager home to have sex with her, ultimately ruining her relationship with the young Cuban male selling fruit through town. The second story shows an old Cuban farmworker who worked on land that was then bought by an international corporation. He sent his kids off to town to enjoy other products of American based multinational corporations. This irony is ultimately counteracted by the father burning the sugar crop and dying right there in the field where he worked so hard to make his living. The third story shows American Sailors on a day pass in Guantanamo Bay, leading into a revolutionary march led by a local student who is tasked with killing the police lieutenant (and fails) on a college campus and a corrupt police suppressing and killing the revolutionaries. The final story finally introduces Castro, when Batista’s armies bomb the mountainous region where a family lives and Castro sought refuge for a moment. Mariano, the man living in the hills with his family, is forced to flee when the bombings start, one of his sons die and he is forced to take up arms with the revolutionaries, where a rifle is earned by taking it off of a dead opponent. The film illustrates the changes taking place in Cuba during the revolution and the impact on the lower class general population.

 In “Born in Blood and Fire”, the chapter on revolution speaks to the shantytowns where women like “Betty” live and are taken advantage of by Americans who visit the region. The Cuban revolution marked by communist ideologies was the only viable solution for the corrupt Batista regime that was in place. This revolution slowly grew until the United States saw the growth of Nuclear Arms and became nervous; realizing the Russian threat of the Cold War was now in their back yard. This culminated in the Bay of Pigs invasion orchestrated under President Kennedy. According to Eckstein’s article, the revolution resulted in higher social welfare but weakened their “capacity to compete in export markets”, and the success rate of the revolution was diminished because of limitations not within their control and exploitation from world powers on either side

Gabriela

Gabriela is a story of a young woman of low social class who falls in love with the Italian Mr. Nacib and has several instances of uninhibited sex with him. Their taboo love made it all the more dangerous and thrilling for them. However soon Nacib became jealous of the attention that Gabriela received from all the locals and wanted to stake his claim on her, he had her citizenship documents forged and proposed marriage to her, which she accepted, though indirectly and somewhat hesitantly. The Besse article refers to the “Law of Cain” which elaborates upon the concept of homicide as a result of infidelity, generally committed by the male partner. This idea comes into play when Nacib walks in on Gabriela and the gentleman from out of town, he mercilessly beats Gabriela then exposes the Notary Public for committing fraud and demands an annulment due to the forgery. This leads to Gabriela’s freedom from the bonds of marriage. It allows her to be herself once again, she no longer has to hide her illiteracy, she is free to enjoy childish entertainment such as the circus, and she is no longer forced to wear shoes and keep her hair up.

However people such as Gabriela were often criticized in society, a strong liberal and free willed woman could not easily fulfill the necessary role in the household, they had to be “docile and obedient… good cooks and housekeepers… as wet nurses, affectionate with the children” (Vida Policial) These “Ellas” had to be forcefully conformed to fit in the patriarchal structure of Brazilian society where women were either mothers or prostitutes.

So what was Gabriela? She was not a mother, she was a temptress, but does that make her the prostitute defined in the  Vida Policial article? Well she was not a criminal, just a poor woman who was very sensual and seductive in the eyes of the people of the town. She loved her life but she was not the definition of the prostitute in the article, which would pen her as a petty criminal. Gabriela was very innocent minded, having a child-like perspective on life, she did not wanted to be tied down or forced to conform to the roles of the wife or the mother. She was happy with her role as a cook, even as Nacib’s mistress. In this role she could dress and do as she pleased, however once they married, Nacib forced a more conservative appearance upon her to hide her sexuality from the rest of the town. This did not fit her lifestyle, so she strayed as Nacib’s desire for her dwindled. This complex relationship unraveled quickly after this point and the relationship reverted back to a secretive mistress role of sneaking around and having wild sex.

Overall, this VERY sexual film discusses sexual roles in Brazil in the 1920s and the impact of the paternalistic structure and perception of women in this time on the “Gabriela” character.

Camila

The film "Camila" provides a historical and dramatic image of the story of the young Camila O'Gorman, an Irish-Argentine womam of 20 years and promenant social standing in the area. According to Hart's article on Camila’s indiscretions from 1847 and 1848, the young Camila O’ Gorman fell in love with the new priest, Uladislao Gutierrez after having met him during a confession of a sexual dream she had, they hid their love up until they finally eloped in the winter of 1847 and assumed new names in a new town, this lasted up through when Camila conceived a child and they were finally discovered in the Summer of 1848 and sentenced to death. The story takes place from Bemberg’s decidedly feminist perspective, as evidenced by the actions and the depiction of Camila as a strong woman who knew what she wanted, and followed through with her desires despite what her overbearing father had to say regarding the situation.

According to the Stephens article, the courtship was probably much less melodramatic in real life than what Bemberg portrayed in the movie. Ladislao had taken his priestly vows against his will and they were therefore invalid in the eyes of God. He openly proclaimed to Camila, even within the context of the film that he was willing to take Camila as his partner before God. This act is very significant in the film as it provides a sense of justification to the rebellious acts of Ladislao and Camila. They were not committing a sin in the eyes of God, only in the eyes of Camila’s father, Adolfo O’Gorman and the Bishop.

Ladislao's Offense (according to Adolfo)

He seduced Camila under the guise of religion and stole her away. In the situation Camila was perceived as a passive victim, placing all of the blame on Ladislao. However the Bishop condemned both Camila and Ladislao as miserable, ungracious and unhappy individuals who committed a great sin and should be punished accordingly, by death, as it turned out.

In the End, both were shot by firing squad, despite the fact that it was illegal to kill a pregnant woman. The hesitation in the eyes of the firing squad when it came to shooting Camila was more than evident, the commander of the squad had to force them to fire under the threat of his own weapon to keep them from lowering their weapons a final time. This indicated a sense of compassion for the Camila and their feelings regarding an unjust judgment on the matter of their relationship. But when it came down to it, they completed their duties and killed both Ladislao and Camila as the judgment had decreed. However, as the closing scene suggests, Ladislao and Camila were reunited forever in death with Ladislao's voice over that whispered "A tu lado, Camila," (By your side, Camila) as they were placed side by side in the same coffin. Reading back to the perceived illegitimacy of Ladislao’s vows, they could indeed share eternity with one another, as they were no longer bound by the judgment of secular rulers.

Adios y hasta la proxima vez,

          Daniel Kiser