¨Conducta¨ is the latest film by Cuban filmmaker Ernesto Daranas and will be exhibited starting next month in the most important movie theaters of the country.
The movie is a call to reflection which intends to sensitize the viewer through the topic it addresses: the story of a teacher about to retire who is the only guide of an eleven years old boy who lives alone with his addicted mother.
The film narrates Carmela and Chala’s drama, the special relation of this teacher with her students, specifically with the latter, a boy who has to face a tough life.
Carmela is his mentor and adviser. The film’s plot begins to develop when she got sick and has to abandon classes, when returning she realizes that everything has changed, even the boy’s behaviour.
The film, co-produced by RTV Comercial, ICAIC (Spanish acronym of Cuban Film Institute) and the Ministry of Culture, shows a poor and rough context in which the characters have learned to survive according to occasions and adversities.
Daranas, whom we remembered by multi-awarded film ¨Los dioses rotos¨ (2008), insists in delving through his work in complex and painful issues, little addressed in current Cuban audiovisual. He explores problems of human sensibility in hostile events and circumstances.
The character of Carmela is played by renowned actress Alina Cruz, who declared feeling satisfied by her performance. According to her it is very well written and allowed her to express much what she wanted to transmit through her work. Her first job, before becoming actress, was precisely teaching, so she used her experience in that field to build the character.
Actresses Miriel Cejas and Yuliet Cruz make up the cast together with a group of children without acting knowledge, which was a great challenge for the completion of the film. The script also belongs to Daranas, photography direction is by Alejandro Pérez, and Eric Grass is the art director, while Osmany Olivare is in charge of the soundtrack.
¨Conducta¨ is a movie made by children but infants are not its main target. It is addressed to adults to make them think on core issues as education, values lost, ethic conflicts, responsibility, manners, feelings, and all that we have lost and can still get back, both in and outside the classroom. The film works as a timely call of attention to our society, to which what we must preserve and also recover, for the benefit of future Cuban generations.
As each great event of Cuban cinema, this drama will have its premiere at Chaplin movie theatre, on February 4th. Its national premiere will be two days later and shall last three weeks.
Author
Cecilia Crespo
Muy buen analisis a pesar de su ligereza. Aun no he visto el film el cual espero ver tan pronto regrese a Cuba, si hay suerte.
La filmografia cubana basada en niños pero dirigida a adultos CUBANOS por lo regular esta bien sedimentada, recordar Havanastation.
Doy las gracias al periodista-critico en nombre del director del film y mio propio por ser un cubano mas.