Fidel: The Untold Story

I've got to say at the outset, I probably would have approached watching Estela Bravo's documentary on Castro with a bit more equanimity if it weren't for the tabloid-ish subtitle (THE UNTOLD STORY!). Untold, indeed…somehow, I kept hoping to see shots of portly Uncle Fidel doing an after-hours merengue with Jennifer Lopez at La Florida in Havana, but the only real revelation turned out to be that Fidel no longer smokes cigars. Still, while Bravo fails to deliver the titillating goods, she has succeeded in presenting a competent and generally engaging look at Castro's political rise and his influence in Cuba and beyond. For close to 50 years, Castro has ominously stalked the American imagination like a panatella-chomping Marxist antichrist. Bravo attempts to counter this image by humanizing both Fidel and the revolution that he brilliantly engineered with compadre Che Guevera. Throughout, the filmmaker rather steadfastly refuses to present Castro in anything other than an adulatory, messianic light; while there is much talk of capitalist/imperialist sins against Cuba, issues of human rights infringement and cultural oppression in Cuba are barely whispered. The strong suits of Fidel, however, are the anecdotes and stories it has to tell: a dove propitiously landing on Fidel's shoulder during his first speech to the Cuban masses after the revolution; or Fidel's invitation to stay free at a black Harlem hotel during his post-revolutionary trip to the U.S. to address the United Nations (after having been refused a room in more posh downtown digs). Although these stories are far from "untold," in Bravo's hands they effectively bring new dimensions to one of the 20th century's most influential and enigmatic leaders. DVD extras include deleted scenes and a photo gallery. Recommended. Aud: C, P. (G. Handman)