With a small film crew, Wim Wenders accompanied his old friend Ry Cooder, who had written the music for Paris, Texas and The End of Violence, on a trip to Havana. Cooder wanted to record his material for Ibrahim Ferrer’s solo album at a studio there—following the recording of the first Buena Vista Social Club CD (which had not yet been released at that time). Wenders immersed himself in the world of Cuban music.
Over the course of several months, he observed and accompanied the musicians—first at home in Havana; then, weeks later, in April 1998, on their trip to Amsterdam for the first public performance of the band (who had never played together outside a studio); then, still later, in July 1998, to their triumphal concert at New York’s Carnegie Hall. He thus followed the old heroes of the traditional Cuban Son music on their path from being completely forgotten to becoming world famous—within the period of just a few months. “I thought, I’ll shoot a documentary,” Wenders has said, “and here we were, about to witness a fairy tale that no one could have imagined in this form.” The music documentary became a cinematic sensation and an international success. Along with an Academy Award nomination for best documentary film, Buena Vista Social Club won the same category at the European Film Awards, the German Film Prize in Gold, Germany’s Golden Camera, and the Grand Prize for Film in Brazil, as well as numerous other awards. — Janus Films.
Buena Vista Social Club Movie
This is a strange film, as it is a documentary of a documentary! Though that actually doesn't take much away from it, as it is a good film on it's own! Since the musicians in the first film were older back then, it stands to reason that not everyone is still alive in this one, and that brought some sweet sadness to my eyes. But I learned much more about the 'main' musicians, and the older footage of them made me smile, and twice, laugh! The only thing this film 'suffers' from is repetition - both by using clips from the first film and by repeating some of the origin stories, sometimes verbatim. On the other hand, I loved seeing President Obama and being reminded of what a true leader looks, and acts, like!
Buena Vista Social Club Download
A good follow up/ending to the Buena Vista Social Club!