Hello Hemingway

Fernando Pérez's "Hello Hemingway" looks at 1950s Havana through the eyes of impoverished high school girl Larita (Laura de la Uz), who hopes to study in the United States. Larita lives near Ernest Hemingway, while idolizing the likes of Paul Newman, Tony Curtis and Elvis Presley. Along with trying as hard as possible to get a scholarship to the US, Larita occasionally participates in protests against the Batista regime. At once a study of Cuba right before the revolution and also a look at an individual's hope of a better life, the film is certainly a fine addition to the pantheon of historical movies told through children's eyes, like Joe Dante's "Matinee".

I've only seen a few Cuban movies, but I have liked them all. It'll be nice when Americans are finally allowed to travel to the Caribbean island. But beyond that, "Hello Hemingway" shows how much better movies are when they concentrate on plot and characters, as opposed to every blow-'em-up flick released by Hollywood.

It seems like it would have been hard for a Cuban director to get permission to use The Diamonds' "Little Darlin'".