Three loosely connected stories unfold in the Cuban town of San Antonio de los Baños - a place suspended in time. In Oceans Are the Real Continents, director Tommaso Santambrogio weaves a story of migration, exile, and longing. We follow Alex and Edith, a couple in their thirties, trying to build a life on shared memories and whispered dreams. Nearby, Milagros sells peanut cones on the street, her world shaped by radio broadcasts and fading letters from the past. And two nine-year-old best friends, Frank and Alain, daydream of a future in the U.S., where they hope to become baseball stars.
Santambrogio’s choice to shoot in luminous black-and-white is both a poetic strength and, at times, a limitation. I occasionally found myself wishing for glimpses of the Caribbean’s natural vibrancy - especially during the film’s seaside sequences - but the stark monochrome ultimately adds weight to the film’s themes of displacement and stasis. The cinematography is stunning throughout: long, still frames dwell on crumbling architecture and windswept shores, creating a meditative tone reminiscent of Roma. Though its 120-minute runtime may feel slow to some, the film does reward patience with quiet, moving details.
This is a film that speaks most clearly to older viewers. Its elliptical, understated narrative isn’t ideal for K - 12 classrooms, but would be a strong pick for public and academic libraries, film studies programs, or curated series on immigration and Latin American cinema. Oceans Are the Real Continents is a timely and atmospheric work - haunting in its simplicity, and beautifully attuned to the ache of places left behind.
What academic courses could use Oceans Are the Real Continents?
This Cuban drama film is an excellent resource for upper-level college courses in Latin American Studies, Global Migration, Postcolonial Literature and Film, and Contemporary Cinema. Its slow, elliptical narrative invites discussion around themes of displacement, exile, and memory, while its black-and-white cinematography offers rich material for film analysis and aesthetics courses. Students can explore how visual style and narrative restraint reflect Cuba's social and political atmosphere, making it especially suitable for interdisciplinary programs that blend film, politics, and cultural studies.
Why should public libraries include this cuban drama in their film collections?
Oceans Are the Real Continents will appeal to patrons interested in immigration stories, Cuban culture, and arthouse or festival films. Its contemplative pacing and beautiful visuals make it ideal for library-hosted film series or discussion groups centered on international cinema or diaspora narratives. While its subtle storytelling may be too understated for younger viewers, adult audiences will find much to reflect on in its emotional restraint and themes of longing, identity, and departure. It’s also a strong fit for collections highlighting contemporary Latin American filmmaking.
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