Stage presence is hard to define, but you know it when you see it. In one scene of this outstanding documentary on Cuban music, host and vocalist Raul Malo (no slouch himself in the "it" department) sits sipping coffee in a café--gut string acoustic guitar on his lap--talking about music with Ivette Cepeda. In the midst of the conversation, Malo strums the opening chord to "Perhaps Perhaps Perhaps" and Cepeda, still cradling a coffee cup in her hands, softly begins the melody. Soon, the pair are performing an amazing duet that soars to the heavens, without either ever rising from the table. Malo is a Miami singer who came to fame in the U.S. with his roots/rock band the Mavericks. Havana Time Machine documents his recent journey to the original homeland of his family to explore the rich--and still somewhat hidden--music traditions of Cuba. The film opens with Malo performing with the acclaimed Eliades Ochoa (introduced to the world by Ry Cooder through the excellent Buena Vista Social Club) and proceeds to mine a rich musical vein of the old and very new (the latter represented by the indie-pop Sweet Lizzy Project) with artists including Roberto Fonseca, the Instituto Superior de Arte’s student string quartet, and of course the Mavericks. The musicians here don’t just play the music, they also seem to live it, expressing and exploring rhythms and melodies that simultaneously connect, sooth, and energize in a language that is unique to an island that has one foot frozen in time and another stepping boldly into the future. Combining astounding musical performances with rich local cinematography, this PBS-aired program presented in stereo is highly recommended. Editor’s Choice. (C. Block)
Havana Time Machine
(2017) 50 min. DVD: $24.99 ($54.99 w/PPR). PBS Video. ISBN: 978-1-5317-0368-4. Volume 33, Issue 3
Havana Time Machine
Star Ratings
As of March 2022, Video Librarian has changed from a four-star rating system to a five-star one. This change allows our reviewers to have a wider range of critical viewpoints, as well as to synchronize with Google’s rating structure. This change affects all reviews from March 2022 onwards. All reviews from before this period will still retain their original rating. Future film submissions will be considered our new 1-5 star criteria.
Order From Your Favorite Distributor Today: