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Closed Proceedings in Havana

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Abstract

By analysing three works of fiction set in Havana, Fresa y Chocolate by Tomas Gutiérrez Alea and Juan Carlos Tabi (Cuba/Mex./Spain/USA, 1993), Retour à Ithaque by Laurent Cantet (France/Belg., 2014) and Viva by Paddy Breathnach (Irl., 2015), we propose to study the Cuban capital as a sick body, as an architecturally, economically, politically and socially dilapidated organism. Its citizens struggle to survive, lacking basic necessities and trapped under a claustrophobic political and social surveillance, which the film directors convey through the use of a variety of aesthetic devices. There is a form of symbiosis between Havana and its inhabitants. The characters are confined in a labyrinth of alleys, stairs and narrow corridors, enveloped in a nocturnal atmosphere. The constricted arteries through which they move show that the body of Havana lacks oxygen. Its inhabitants need to find spaces to breathe and to express their authentic selves, to regenerate. This space is to be found behind Havana’s façades, behind its closed doors (an apartment, a cabaret) and even on a roof-top terrace. These private spaces reveal the dual nature of the city and its people, and constitute pockets of liberty as well as places of catharsis. The external façade presents a socially acceptable figure while covering and protecting the authentic self. The private spaces provide the physical and mental oxygen that the soul of Havana needs to survive. It is here that individual liberties flourish, allowing rights to be asserted, and art to be both preserved and created. The premise of a spiritual transformation begins to take form.

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Notes

  1. In particular a short documentary, Esta tierra nuestra, in 1959, and a full-length feature film, Historias de la revolución, in 1960, that were made under the auspices of the ICAIC, created on the 24 March 1959 [24, p. 51; pp. 58–59].

  2. ‘Within the Revolution, everything; against the Revolution, nothing.’ Palabras a Los Intelectuales, speech given on 30 June 1961.This is reminiscent of a speech that Mussolini gave on the 28th October 1925 at the Scala in Milan: ‘The State is all, there is nothing is outwith the State, nothing against the State.’ [48, p. 94].

  3. His previous adaptations were Foxfire. Confessions d’un gang de filles/Foxfire (France/Canada, 2012) from the novel entitled Confessions d’un gang de filles: Foxfire by Joyce Carol Oates ; Entre les murs (France, 2008) adapted from the eponymous novel written by François Bégaudeau; and Vers le sud (France/Canada, 2005), adapted from a short story written by Dany Laferrière and published in the collection La Chair du maître.

  4. ‘[…] ma littérature est très générationnelle, les romans policiers avec Mario Conde, Le palmier et l’étoile et même L’homme qui aimait les chiens sont des histoires très cubaines liées à ma génération. […] C’est ma responsabilité d’écrivain de montrer ce qu’a été l’histoire de Cuba de ces trente, quarante ou cinquante dernières années.’ [Our translation]. Interview with Leonardo Padura Fuentes, Bonus on the Retour à Ithaque DVD, DVD video/HautEtCourt/OrangeStudio/Universal.

  5. O’Halloran is known for injecting an element of social consciousness into his films; his latest film, Rosie deals with the situation of the homeless in Dublin [6].

  6. Habaguanex focused on the old part of the town protected by Unesco and it was in charge of managing hotels, restaurants and shops and bringing in foreign currency. Thanks to the development of tourism, the income of the OHCH rocketed from 3 M$ in 1994 to 62 M$ in 2000 [49, p. 660].

  7. He did go to Cuba on several occasions, notably when he was looking for locations to shoot a previous film, and ‘took care to avoid behaving like a foreigner who knows everything about Cuba’ (cf. an interview with Cantet in the bonus on the Retour à Ithaque DVD).

  8. Our translation of: ‘Vivimos en una de las ciudades mas maravillosas del mundo, todavia esta tiempo a ver algunas cosas antes de que se derrumbe, se le trae la mierda.’.

  9. In 1993, 20% of the flats had no decent toilets, 40% of the buildings had fissures and ¾ had problems with water seepage [49, p. 663].

  10. Federation of Cuban Women, Association for Young Rebels, National Association of Smallholder Farmers, National Union of Writers and Artists of Cuba (UNEAC) [14, p. 44].

  11. Our translation of: 'L’évocation de la culture cubaine renvoie immanquablement à sa musique, fusion de la percussion africaine et de la guitare espagnole. Caractéristique, elle a toujours constitué un échappatoire, un espace de liberté dans lequel les cubains n’ont pas manqué de se réfugier tout au long de leur histoire mouvementée’ [48, p. 95].

  12. Animal breeding was widespread, so ‘it was not uncommon to have a pig in the bath, chickens on the balcony and rabbits under the sink. The animals were killed in the buildings where they were bred, with a total disregard for even the basic rules of hygiene. Even in the town centre neighbourhoods the cry of the cock could often be heard at dawn’ [49, p. 649].

  13. Art. 550 : ‘El Estado, que reconoce, respeta y garantiza la libertad de conciencia y de religión, reconoce, respeta y garantiza a la vez la libertad de cada ciudadano de cambiar de creencias religiosas o no tener ninguna, y a profesar, dentro del respeto a la ley, el culto religioso de su preferencia’.

  14. Art. 8 of the Constitution: ‘The State recognises, respects and guarantees religious freedom. Within the Republic of Cuba, religious institutions are separate from the State and all have the same rights and responsibilities. The various beliefs and religions enjoy equal treatment.’.

  15. COMECON: Council for Mutual Economic Assistance, an economic organisation led by the Soviet Union.

Filmography

  1. Fresa y Chocolate. 1993. [Feature Film] Directed by Tomás Gutiérrez Alea and Juan Carlos Tabío. Cuba/Mexico/Spain/USA: El Instituto Cubano Del Arte E Industria Cinematográficos, Instituto Mexicano De Cinematografía, Telemadrid, La Sociedad General De Autores De España, Tabasco Films and Miramax.

  2. Retour à Ithaque. 2014. [Feature Film] Directed by Laurent Cantet. France/Belgium: Orange Studio, Haut et Court, Funny Balloons, Panache Productions, La Compagnie Cinématographique.

  3. Viva. 2015. [Feature Film] Directed by Paddy Breathnach. Ireland: Treasure Entertainment, Radio Teilifís Éireann, Windmill Lane Pictures, Island Films, Screen Ireland.

  4. 7 días en la Habana. 2012. [Feature Film] Directed by Benicio Del Toro, Pablo Trapero, Julio Medem, Elia Suleiman, Gaspar Noé and Juan Carlos Tabío. France/Cuba/Spain: Backup Media, Canal +, Chaocorp Distribution, Full House, Havana Club International, Instituto de la Cinematografía y de les Artes Audiovisuales (ICAA), Maneki Films, Morena Films, Palatine Étoile 8, Palatine Étoile 9, Sofica Coficup.

  5. Buena Vista Social Club. 1999. [Documentary Film] Directed by Wim Wenders. Germany/USA/UK/France/Cuba: Road Movies Filmproduktion, Kintop Pictures, Instituto Cubano del Arte e Industrias Cinematográficos (ICAIC), Arte France, Channel Four Films, Wim Wenders Stiftung.

  6. Rosie. 2018. [Feature Film] Directed by Paddy Breathnach. Ireland: Element Pictures.

  7. Some Like it Hot. 1959. [Feature Film] Directed by Billy Wilder. USA: Ashton Productions, The Mirisch Corporation.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. University of La Rochelle, CEREGE, La Rochelle, France

    Magalie Flores-Lonjou

  2. English Studies Department, University of Limoges, EHIC, Limoges, France

    Estelle Épinoux

  3. University of La Rochelle, CRHIA, La Rochelle, France

    Frank Healy

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  1. Magalie Flores-Lonjou
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  2. Estelle Épinoux
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  3. Frank Healy
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Correspondence to Magalie Flores-Lonjou.

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Flores-Lonjou, M., Épinoux, E. & Healy, F. Closed Proceedings in Havana. Int J Semiot Law 32, 549–578 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11196-019-09631-6

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