Havana Curveball

Husband-and-wife filmmakers Marcia Jarmel and Ken Schneider showcase their own school-age son in this engaging documentary. San Francisco's Mica Jarmel-Schneider wants to do something selfless and heroic after his bar mitzvah that will mark him as a "mensch." Combining his affection for baseball with concern over poverty in Latin America, Mica is struck by the plight of Cuba, a baseball-loving nation that was then still subject to harsh Cold-War relic trade embargoes by the United States. Even Havana's top baseball team has only one helmet among the lineup. When Mica can't confirm the arrival of donated bats and balls he expedited to Cuba via Canada, the boy and his parents (who stay offscreen most of the time) personally visit the Communist-dominated island via a faith-based charity. Mica is able to bring more gear, play in games, and meet Cuban fans and players (even top stars of the diamond lead ordinary, comrade-in-the-street proletarian lives like everyone else). Yet Mica also comes to realize the limits of his one-mensch relief effort. There are no discussions of politics or Castro here, but an eye-opening visit to Cuba's small Jewish community offers an unexpected bonus. A modest film that scores in the subject areas of Judaica, sports, and Latin-American studies, this is recommended. Aud: H, C, P. (C. Cassady)