(2021) Drama (Maison 4:3) Yonah Acosta Gonzalez, Evelyn Castroda O’Farrill, Aki Yaghoubi, Julio Cesar Hong Ortiz, Ahlam Gholani. Directed by Kaveh Nabatian
When one is frustrated with the way their life is turning out, it’s not uncommon for them to believe that their problems can be solved by a change of scenery. For those living in countries that lack the opportunity of other countries, there is some merit to that argument. However, the truth is generally that your problems accompany you wherever you go.
Leonardo (Acosta Gonzalez) is a brilliant ballet dancer who is aware of his own talent and isn’t afraid to promote it. When he isn’t cast in the lead role of his Cuban ballet company’s production of Romeo and Juliet, he demands to know why. Leonardo is sure that it’s because of the color of his skin – he’s of African descent. The company director maintains that it is his attitude that is holding him back. Ultimately, they are both right but the upshot is that Leonardo talks his way into being fired.
Forced to take a job as a salsa dance instructor for tourists (he speaks fluent English), he is berated by his girlfriend Sara (O’Farrill) who nags him for always throwing a monkey wrench into their plans to leave Cuba for a land of more opportunity. Sara is a lawyer who knows she will never make the kind of money she will elsewhere, and she is anxious to prove herself as a lawyer but also to bring herself out of the poverty that her and Leonardo cannot escape from.
The two hatch a desperate plan for Leonardo to seduce one of the foreign students in his salsa class and get her to bring him to her home country for marriage. Then, when he has saved up enough money, he can divorce her and bring Sara over as his wife. The plan appears to be working when his Canadian student Nasim (Yaghoubi) – herself an immigrant from Iran – falls for Leonardo’s charms and invites him to be with her in Montreal.
Leonardo leaves the tropical heat of Cuba, certain that he’ll quickly land a job at one dance company or another, but cold reality is about to hit him – literally. Montreal is in the middle of winter and Leonardo is unprepared for the subzero temperatures, the snow and the hostility that he encounters. He applies with several companies, but he isn’t what they are looking for. He ends up getting a job at a meat packing company where as he has no immigration papers, he is paid under the table at a miniscule amount. Sara is impatient and wonders if Leonardo will keep his promise; Leonardo is frustrated that his dreams aren’t coming together the way he planned, and Nasim suspects that she is being lied to, although she doesn’t realize how deep the deception runs. When Leonardo’s friend Julio (Hong Ortiz) suggests that one of their friends marries Sara and brings her over, the three of them end up facing undertain futures in a present that is not at all what any of them were looking for.
We’ve had a raft of films exploring the issues confronting refugees, especially those arriving from Syria and other Muslim countries, and Latin American countries. Mostly, they examine the physical obstacles of emigrating – legally or otherwise. This is one of the rare films that looks at the emotional toll of moving from one country to another one. It is enhanced by solid performances by all three lead actors who are gifted with well-written parts that are actually human rather than archetypes or tropes.
Leonardo is the most obviously unpleasant of the three; he is self-absorbed to the point of narcissism and about as arrogant as you can be. Sara, however, is blunt and pragmatic but also a bit of a nag, complaining bitterly about all of Leonardo’s points. There are times I wonder why the two of them stay together, but there is certainly a real bond between them. Nasim, who is coming out of an abusive marriage, is aware she’s being used and seems to be okay with it. She wants to break out of her restrictive Iranian family’s clutches and let loose to become the woman she wants to be. It isn’t easy, particularly since racism runs deep in her father.
It was fortunate casting Acosta Gonzalez in the role of Leonardo because the boy can dance. He is incredibly graceful and handles the dance scenes easily. In fact, the film is very strong on the technical end, with particular kudos going to cinematographer Juan Pablo Ibañez Ramirez for beautifully capturing the heat of Havana and the chill of Montreal, choreographer Julio Hong Ortiz, and Nabatian, who in addition to directing (and this his first feature!) also co-wrote the screenplay and composed the Latin-tinged score.
This is a very strong and emotionally complex film that is heartbreaking in places. The resolution is a bit pat and relies a bit much on coincidence, but otherwise this is an outstanding effort. The film is currently playing at the Miami Film Festival and is available online through the Festival for American audiences through the end of the Festival run on March 14. If you are unable to order it online before the Festival ends, keep an eye out for it as no doubt it will be making its way on the Festival circuit throughout the spring, summer and into the fall.
REASONS TO SEE: Wonderful cinematography. A gripping (and occasionally heartbreaking) story.
REASONS TO AVOID: Leonardo isn’t always the most likable of characters.
FAMILY VALUES: There is profanity including racial slurs, sexuality and nudity.
TRIVIAL PURSUIT: Yonah Acosta Gonzalez is the nephew of the legendary Cuban dancer Carlos Acosta.
BEYOND THE THEATERS: Virtual Cinema (available through 3/14/21)
CRITICAL MASS: As of 3/4/21: Rotten Tomatoes: No score yet; Metacritic: No score yet.
COMPARISON SHOPPING: Green Card
FINAL RATING: 7.5/10
NEXT: The Walrus and the Whistleblower
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