Search - Maluala on DVD

A Courageous Cuban Fillm

Amos Lassen | Little Rock, Arkansas | 07/17/2008

(5 out of 5 stars)

""Maluala"

A Courageous Cuban Film

Amos Lassen

First Run Features has begun a new collection--"The Cuban Masterworks Collection" and one of the two inaugural films is the absolutely amazing "Maluala" which won first prize at the Havana Film Festival. I understand that the film was forged "in a righteous, red-hot ferment" but it is courageous in that it asks questions about the society in which it was conceived. Sergio Giral, the director is an Afro-Cuban and he produced a trilogy of films about slave uprisings in Cuba. He concentrates on the gradual rebellion against the traditions of colonial Cuba and the freedom that came about as a result.
"Maluala" is set in 19th century Cuba and the Cimarrons or runaway African slaves take power from their Spanish masters and hide in the settlements in the eastern mountains of the island. Among the runaways are several traitors who are secretly working for the Spanish and they bring about discord.
The movie boasts a great deal of colorful ritual and the acting is wonderful. The cinematography is brilliant and the colors wash the eyes of the viewer. Giral manages to implant the necessary unity into every image projected on the screen so that the violence is a nit toned down. What stands out is the quest for unity among people as they struggle to attain power and ambition which lies beyond definition.
Everything about this film is impressive and for those of us who have no idea of what is like not to be free, this film has a great deal to show. The film was made in 1979 but it is as vibrant as anything being made today and a great deal more powerful. Watching "Maluala" is an experience not soon forgotten.
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Great African Diaspora DVD-Cuban

T. Simmons | Florida/California, USA | 03/09/2009

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I love this movie. It is on the same level as Quilombo in showing the resistance and self sufficiency of Africans who were forcibly brought to the Western Hemisphere by slave traders. It is refreshing to see the Afro-Cubans history highlighted from a historical viewpoint that shows how they fought to maintain their own freedom."