I confess that I was mainly attracted to this film because it is in Spanish, rather than because it’s a ‘dancing’ film. It’s the true story of Carlos Acosta, the famous Cuban dancer who has danced with the major (Western) dance companies of the world. Born to a poor family in Havana, it was his father who drove his career when Carlos himself was a reluctant draftee into the world of dance. It’s a Cuban Billy Elliot in reverse. It is filmed in Havana, which surprised me a bit – perhaps the fact that it is not an American movie opened doors. Carlos Acosta plays himself as an adult, and the narrative is intercut with dance scenes that tell the story – beautifully.
But it is, after all, a dance movie so you more or less know the story before you even see it. I see that Cinema Nova isn’t showing it any more, either. As it turns out, I saw it at its very last showing.
My rating: 3.5 stars out of 5.
The Resident Judge of Port Phillip 