7 Days in Havana

A young American (Josh Hutcherson) experiences a very special night in Havana, a celebrated director (Emir Kusturica) shows more interest in the city's nightlife than in winning a lifetime achievement award, a talented singer (Melvis Estévez) dreams of a better life in Spain with a charming businessman (Daniel Brühl) and an old lady (Nathalia Amore) has a fountain built for the Blessed Virgin Mary in the middle of her apartment after a dream from her family. These are just a few of the events that unfold over the course of a week in the vibrant metropolis of Havana. In the tradition of films like Paris je t´aime, Benecio del Toro, Pablo Trapero, Julio Medem, Elia Suleiman, Gaspar Noé, Juan Carlos Tabío and Laurent Cantet paid tribute to Cuba's capital in 7 Days in Havana.

The result is a qualitatively unbalanced episodic film that at times comes across as amusing, at times playful, at other times dark, disturbing or very whimsical. The mix, which is not always entirely coherent, is in itself very appropriate for a portrait of Havana, since different languages, cultures, religions and ideologies meet here every day. But what in reality is a testimony to pulsating life and intoxicating diversity only works to a limited extent in the film. It is noticeable in a very positive way that the different directors draw a very versatile picture of Havana, which includes beautiful, picturesque, as well as dreary and dark sides. It is not a typical commercial film, but a multi-faceted declaration of love for all aspects of the metropolis and its inhabitants.

But in the end, there is simply no positive overall impression. The quality of the individual short films is too variable. Enormous boredom is followed by oppressive boredom again and again. Especially when the contributions try too hard to be ambitious or bizarre, this is usually at the expense of the entertainment value. The handwriting of the directors, their artistic ambitions, their visual style and their leadership of the actors are simply too different to result in a harmonious whole.

7 Days in Havana is an ambitious episodic film that has many strong aspects to offer, but just also suffers from quite a few tough moments, which not only strains the patience of the audience badly. But if you love Havana or appreciate films like New York I Love You, you can safely embark on this cinematic journey to Cuba despite the weaknesses. Worth seeing with some reservations

An article by Frankfurt-Tipp