10 best (and controversial) Cuban Films

Cuban cinema, particularly since the 1959 revolution, is known for its high artistic quality, social commentary, and unique ability to blend entertainment with powerful political and historical critiques. The establishment of the Instituto Cubano del Arte e Industria Cinematográficos (ICAIC) (formalized this movement, producing works that are now considered foundational to world cinema, particularly in Latin America

My course on Cuban culture and media offers an deep dive into this rich legacy. We do not just look at lists; we have dedicated units on Cuban Film, Series, and Theatre collections, where you will learn to analyze these works in their original context and understand their lasting impact.

Here are 10 of the best and most influential Cuban films, there are many more awaiting you in my community. I also have direct links to them.

10. One Way or Another (De cierta manera) (1974)

Directed by: Sara Gómez

Synopsis: Set in the new revolutionary society, this film explores the conflict between Yolanda, a middle-class teacher from an affluent family, and Mario, a young, formerly dynamic, now uninspired, and anti-intellectual worker who is part of a newly constructed housing project. It masterfully uses documentary style (cinéma vérité) blended with a fictional narrative to critique sexism, social stratification, and the difficulties of integrating differing classes into a utopian vision.

Why it's Essential: This is the first feature-length film directed by a Cuban woman. Its hybrid format of narrative drama and documentary remains unique. It is a powerful analysis of the persistent structures of inequality and prejudice in the early years of the revolution.

9. Behavior (Conducta) (2014)

Directed by: Ernesto Daranas

Synopsis: Set in the context of contemporary economic and social decline, this modern classic focuses on the relationship between Carmela, an aging, dedicated schoolteacher, and Chala, a troubled 11-year-old from a broken home. Chala is assigned to a 're-education' school, which triggers Carmela to fight for her student.

Why it's Essential: Conducta is a profound social realistic drama. It critiques the failings of the rigid educational bureaucracy to adapt to the realities of extreme poverty and shifting family dynamics. The film provides crucial context on contemporary life, which is a major focus in my course.

8. Alicia in Wonderland (Alicia en el pueblo de Maravillas) (1991)

Directed by: Daniel Díaz Torres

Synopsis: This surreal satire is a metaphor for the entire Cuban experience. Alicia, a young theater director, arrives in the quiet town of "Maravillas" to take over a local arts center, only to find a world of grotesque characters, nonsensical rules, and decaying architecture (image_12.png). The town represents the stagnation of the Cuban 'Special Period' in the early 1990s.

Why it's Essential: This film is famously controversial and was heavily suppressed upon release. It is one of the boldest uses of surrealism to criticize bureaucracy, opportunism, and institutional hypocrisy. The film is a valuable text for studying this period of acute crisis.

7. Death of a Bureaucrat (La muerte de un burócrata) (1966)

Directed by: Tomás Gutiérrez Alea

Synopsis: When a beloved, multi-award-winning bureaucratic worker dies, his nephew (Francisco) attempts to have him buried with his 'labor booklet,' a requirement for pension benefits. However, a different bureaucrat insists that Francisco needs his late uncle's signature and the original labor booklet to receive it. What follows is a chaotic, satirical nightmare as Francisco fights an impossible labyrinth of institutional rules (image_13.png).

Why it's Essential: This is a masterpieces of dark comedy. Gutiérrez Alea utilizes surrealism and a wild pace to deliver a blistering critique of the bureaucratic machine that, ironically, was expanding under the revolution itself. It is a defining film of the early ICAIC period, showing that critical voices were present.

6. Vampires in Havana (¡Vampiros en La Habana!) (1985)

Directed by: Juan Padrón

Synopsis: This zany, adult-oriented animated feature is set in the 1930s during the oppressive Batista dictatorship. A clumsy vampire musician (image_14.png) discovers that his recently deceased uncle, Werner Amadeus, created a formula (the 'Vampisol') that allows vampires to withstand sunlight. Werner, who wants to market the formula cheaply, is assassinated by the Chicago Vampire Mafia and the 'Grupo Capa Negra' (a rival vampire faction in Havana), sparking a chaotic cartoon war for control of the 'Vampisol'.

Why it's Essential: Vampires in Havana is a cult masterpiece of animation, recognized for its frantic pace, adult humor, and brilliant use of Cuban vernacular and jazz. It functions as a hysterical satire that manages to simultaneously critique capitalism, police corruption, and imperialism. We use this film to discuss the limits of satirical animation and the unique style of Juan Padrón.

5. Lucía (1968)

Directed by: Humberto Solás

Synopsis: This epic film presents three stories of Cuban women, all named Lucía, spanning three distinct eras: 1895 (the War of Independence), 1932 (the struggle against the Machado dictatorship), and the 1960s (the post-revolutionary period) (image_15.png). The film uses very different visual styles (baroque, neorealist, and lyrical/modern) for each segment. In all three eras, the women navigate shifting social expectations, political violence, and personal agency.

Why it's Essential: Lucía is a landmark of Latin American "Third Cinema." It is a foundational text for studying gender and revolution. Solás brilliantly uses the lives of three different women as a metaphor for the entire historical transformation of the Cuban nation.

4. The Last Supper (La última cena) (1976)

Directed by: Tomás Gutiérrez Alea

Synopsis: This dense, candlelit historical period drama (image_16.png) is set in the 18th century on a wealthy, rustic sugar plantation. During Holy Week, the devout and aristocratic Spanish Count, seeking spiritual piety and a release from his internal contradictions, decides to invite twelve of his enslaved workers to a grotesque, theatrical reenactment of the Last Supper, seated at his own table. He attempts to wash their feet and preach Christian humility. The enslaved men, who interpret this performance differently, engage in complex theological and philosophical internal debates that ultimately explode into defiance and rebellion.

Why it's Essential: Gutiérrez Alea delivers a brilliant Marxist and anti-colonialist critique of the alliance between organized religion, aristocratic hypocrisy, and the brutal economic engine of slavery. The Last Supper is a cornerstone of Latin American "Third Cinema." It is analyzed for its complex structure, performance, and critique of ideological power.

3. Strawberry and Chocolate (Fresa y chocolate) (1993)

Directed by: Tomás Gutiérrez Alea & Juan Carlos Tabío

Synopsis: Set in the early 1990s (the 'Special Period'), this tender and crucial film (image_17.png) explores the unlikely friendship between David, a naive, communist university militant, and Diego, a sophisticated, out, and anti-revolutionary gay artist. Their relationship, initially built on mutual curiosity and intellectual internal debate (as captured by the symbolic choice of ice cream), blossoms into genuine love and solidarity. David's journey requires him to confront his own internalized homophobia, while Diego struggles to maintain his identity while facing severe social exclusion.

Why it's Essential: Strawberry and Chocolate is the first Cuban film to receive an Academy Award nomination. It is a defining text for studying LGBTQ+ history in revolutionary Cuba. The film, released during a period of acute crisis, served as a crucial plea for tolerance, pluralism, and the need to embrace difference as a source of strength, not division.

2. I Am Cuba (Soy Cuba) (1964)

Directed by: Mikhail Kalatozov

Synopsis: This Soviet-Cuban co-production (image_18.png) is a stunning visual and technical epic. The film is structured as four separate stories, each focusing on a different segment of pre-revolutionary society: Maria, a cynical sex worker who services rich American tourists; Pedro, a naive peasant farmer whose land is taken by a greedy landowner; Enrique, a university student militant in the anti-Batista underground; and a final story about a humble campesino whose life is upended. While its explicit purpose was revolutionary propaganda, the film is legendary for its complex and impossible camera work.

Why it's Essential: I Am Cuba is a masterpiece of dynamic, experimental cinematography (using extreme wide angles and hand-held cinéma vérité techniques). Its technical innovations and breathtaking long takes are legendary in world cinema. We utilize this film in my course to discuss the impact of foreign production and the specific role of the camera in revolutionary storytelling.

1. Memories of Underdevelopment (Memorias del subdesarrollo) (1968)

Directed by: Tomás Gutiérrez Alea

Synopsis: This is widely considered the greatest Cuban film ever made. Sergio, a middle-class intellectual, refuses to join his family and wife in their exile to Miami after the failed Bay of Pigs invasion (image_19.png). Instead, he remains in Havana, now a 'stranger in his own land,' observing the radical transformation of his country with a mix of cynical detachment, intellectual critique, and paralysis. Sergio’s internal monologue (captured in high-contrast black and white cinéma vérité) is a profound analysis of isolation and the difficulty of finding meaning when your entire social class has vanished. The film is a masterpiece of dynamic, nonlinear editing.

Why it's Essential: Memories of Underdevelopment is a perfect example of how a film can be both intensely political and deeply personal. It is the defining text for understanding the complicated position of the intellectual and the bourgeois in a revolutionary context. Gutiérrez Alea brilliantly utilizes complex editing and performance to critique the very "underdevelopment" he is describing. We dedicate significant time to this film in my course.

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