Fidelandia: Behind the Curtain of Cuba’s Revolution

Part history lesson and part sociological assessment, Isaias Castañeda’s documentary presents a surprisingly even-handed view of Fidel Castro’s Cuba, balancing observations from exiles who participated in the Bay of Pigs invasion with comments from spokespeople for the Communist regime, along with remarks by ordinary citizens who have mixed opinions. Castañeda offers a brief survey of Castro’s rebellion against the Batista dictatorship, a description of the regime he created, and an account of its development through the long, punishing U.S. embargo, which was finally relaxed by President Obama, only to be reversed by President Trump. The major emphasis of Fidelandia, however, is on how a cross-section of Cubans (along with some Cuban-Americans) view the Castro years. A few remain true believers, but most are disillusioned: younger people yearn for greater freedom and opportunity (and improved Internet access), while older folk (many retirees struggling on tiny pensions) complain that the promises of the revolution were never kept (although they might have been realized for a privileged few). Even some interviewees associated with the government admit, with a degree of ruefulness, that not all of Castro’s objectives were met. Shot for the most part without official authorization, Fidelandia is at times technically ragged, but it offers a close-up, personal view of life in a country that is trapped in a curious time warp by American economic sanctions, as well as insight into the continued hostility toward the regime among Cuban-Americans who were forced off the island after the 1959 revolution. Recommended. Aud: C, P. (F. Swietek)