Cuba Feliz

Not to make too big a deal out of it, but classifying this item as a “world music documentary,” not to mention touting it as something that will appeal to lovers of the various Buena Vista Social Club projects, smacks a bit of cultural condescension. Fact is, the music heard in this film--which isn't exactly a concert, a movie, a travelogue, or a documentary, but something of a combination of all of the above--isn't “world music,” it's Cuban music. And while Buena Vista fans may in fact enjoy it, that's no more or less likely than people who love, say, B.B. King's sophisticated urban blues automatically harkening to Son House or some other acoustic Delta bluesman. That said, Cuba Feliz is an enjoyable journey (literally) as director Karim Dridi (who calls his film “a road movie musical”) follows 76-year-old, guitar-playing troubadour Miguel Del Morales, a.k.a. El Gallo (the Rooster), as he wanders from place to place, spontaneously making music with pretty much anyone and everyone he encounters, be they baseball players, old school types in city and countryside alike, young rappers, even the occasional dog. There's no narration, precious little dialogue (El Gallo and the others do a great deal more playing and singing than talking), no story to speak of, and if it all comes off as a bit aimless, well, that seems to be the way the dude lives. A strong optional purchase. Aud: C, P. (S. Graham)