Memories of Underdevelopment (1968)
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Memories of Underdevelopment Movie Review
Memories of Underdevelopment is a 1968 Cuban film directed by Tomas Gutierrez Alea. It’s an interesting mix of genres, though it is messy overall.
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“People seem more stupid every day“
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In the aftermath of the Bay of Pigs Invasion, Sergio, an affluent writer, chooses to stay behind in Cuba while his wife and family escape to neighboring Miami. Sergio is pessimistic about the revolution’s promise to bring sweeping change to his country, and he squanders his days prowling the streets of Havana looking for female companionship. Trouble erupts when his fling with chaste Elena nearly ruins him after her family accuses Sergio of rape.
Yes, this film is very difficult to categorize despite its seemingly simple premise. But that story is only a part of this movie while other parts are more documentarian in approach. I would personally categorize it as a mix between a documentary and a drama.
The former segments were the best in my opinion as the film importantly showcases Cuban Revolution and its aftermath. It’s a great history lesson for this tumultuous period in Cuban history and a lot can be learnt from it, including the Cuban missile crisis. It explores solidly the political landscape of this particular period and especially how it affected regular people.
But I wasn’t too crazy about its dramatic elements, especially its French New Wave elements as I am not the biggest fan of that movement. I liked the Italian neorealism here, but the New Wave sequences annoyed me, especially that tumultuous central relationship.
There is no denying the power of the film’s technical aspects. It sounds good, the dialogue is great and the documentarian scenes are scene-stealers. But the cinematography in Memories of Underdevelopment is particularly striking as its black-and-white photography is crisp and the imagery is quite memorable.
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I especially liked the almost erotic portrayal of both sexes as it’s a very sensual movie. But the emotional/romantic elements weren’t all that well written unfortunately which is why the movie is much better off as a political documentary. And it’s actually quite important in that regard as this very strong history lesson and time capsule.
Memories of Underdevelopment is a movie that is very difficult to categorize as it’s ambiguous in terms of its genre. I personally did not care for its French New Wave influences as those were undercooked, standard and not all that interesting to begin with. The film is at its best as a political documentary of sorts. It’s a visually appealing time capsule/history lesson as it importantly explores the aftermath of Cuban Revolution.
