SummaryJon Alpert began a chronicle of Fidel Castro’s Cuba in 1972, bringing along a small crew and a portable camera. Filmed over 45 years, Cuba and the Cameraman follows three families and Castro. Alpert was there for Cuba’s socialism of the early ‘70s, and for the 1980 Mariel Bay boatlift, when over 100,000 Cubans fled the island, accompanied by inma... Read More
Directed By:Jon Alpert
Written By:Jon Alpert
Cuba and the Cameraman
Metascore
Universal Acclaim
82
User score
Universal Acclaim
9.0
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Top Cast
Metascore
Universal Acclaim
82
100% Positive
5 Reviews
5 Reviews
0% Mixed
0 Reviews
0 Reviews
0% Negative
0 Reviews
0 Reviews
Nov 22, 2017
90
As a decades-long, ground-level portrait of the country, [Alpert's] vibrant film is unprecedented.
Nov 22, 2017
83
Cuba and the Cameraman, while essentially a greatest hits collection for Alpert’s career, never feels recycled. It also never feels Frankensteined together.
Nov 30, 2017
80
Cuba and the Cameraman distills thousands of hours of footage into 113 lively, whirlwind minutes, covering big news events — the Mariel Boatlift; a Castro visit to the United Nations; the Communist leader’s death in 2016 — but also always taking the time to capture the everyday drift of life.
Nov 29, 2017
80
In part because of its political blind spots, Cuba and the Cameraman is captivating. (Whatever you think of Mr. Alpert’s perspective, it’s interesting.) But it’s mostly worth watching because of human stories like these.
Nov 21, 2017
80
A work of old-school humanism that hovers between pro-Revolutionary fervor and a more objective documentary stance, Cuba and the Cameraman is sustained by the strong bonds of trust which the gregarious Alpert has evidently been able to maintain with Cubans from various echelons of this theoretically classless society.
User score
Universal Acclaim
9.0
100% Positive
8 Ratings
8 Ratings
0% Mixed
0 Ratings
0 Ratings
0% Negative
0 Ratings
0 Ratings
Dec 27, 2019
10
I am no movie critic, but this is one of the most impactful documentaries I have ever seen. I watched it again a few weeks after seeing it for the first time. I couldn't stop thinking about it. The characters are brought to life as producer Jon Alpert visits Cuba and these people over several decades, spanning the many ups and downs of the Cuba experiment. I think the most surprising part of this documentary is his ability to talk to and get to know Fidel Castro. He is a surprisingly sympathetic figure - likable and with a gleaming sense of humor - which is of course surprising as he has always been viewed as a demonic villain in the American lexicon. This is a perfectly crafted documentary for anyone interested in a better understanding of the people of Cuba.
Production Company:
- Downtown Community Television Center
Release Date:Nov 24, 2017
Duration:1 h 53 m
Awards
News & Documentary Emmy Awards
• 1 Nomination
