Fest Track On Sirk TV Film Review: SIN LA HABANA [Miami Film Festival 2021 - Virtual]

The aspect of ambition versus life is always a construct of the lives led. But within the texture of an artist it is a different angle. With Leonardo (Yonah Acosta) in "Sin La Habana" [Jordan Ressler First Feature Award] , his perception and perspective of what he can be in Havana is a coin flip away from what is possible in the real world. When he has tourists and ladies coming in from all over the world to Havana it is a different approach. But he wants to get out. As a trained ballerino, he believes he has the talent and ability. The world cannot stop him. The movie is a cautionary tale of people wanting something so bad, they can't take it but not understanding the repercussions. Love becomes a commodity and an opportunity, not a way of life. The want to escape certain countries like Cuba must be great but it depends on where the idea of what life is sits outside this reality. It is a practical versus a philosophical choice as his travels lead him to Montreal with a lady who has her own agenda, albeit a much more domestic while another, familiar with his agenda, stays behind waiting for her opportunity. The notion of desire is a specific element here but responsibility versus actual honesty when so many masks are put up is not healthy, and the film displays that. Leonardo prides himself on his greatness as a a dancer but is lost in the idea of what that means. One scene in particular during a dance audition shows this in terms of ego. Many people are talented but not adjusting a little bit or being unwilling to compromise is as much a problem as having no talent at all. This is interestingly enough reflective in the early scenes set in Cuba. The alternating elements of hot and cold, both in color and tone, especially in the contrasts of the two cities shown really maneuvers itself quite well. The difference in cultures are also interestingly pronounced between Leonardo's superstitions bathed in his culture but also the interesting reverse racism that happens with his amore's family in Montreal who themselves are immigrants. The movie tackles some interesting issues but, at times, the characters themselves are hard to get behind because none of their exploits seem to point to any kind of altruistic end. However that is also what the nature of the piece is saying. "Sin La Habana" , even into its closing shot, shows the prism of the world through stained glass lenses, skewing the light in what the ambition of an artist can be. B-

By Tim Wassberg