Mirta Ibarra Movies

Cuban filmmaker Juan Carlos Tabío uses laughter to explore the socio-economic difficulties facing his homeland in this comedy concerning the chaos that unfolds when word spreads that the Castiñeiras family is set to receive a sizable inheritance. When Yamaguey resident Bernardito (Jorge Perugorría) first receives word that the Castiñeiras family is about to receive a large inheritance, he's understandably skeptical at first. Upon checking the internet and discovering that news outlets across the globe are reporting the bizarre development, however, his hopes finally begin to rise. It appears that a group of 18th Century Castiñeiras nuns had quietly deposited a large treasure in a British bank, and that the already substantial sum has been acquiring interest ever since. The authorities estimate that each family is set to receive millions, an announcement that has Castiñeiras all across Cuba lining up to prove their eligibility. But considering the fact that there are two separate Castiñeiras bloodlines, which one is entitled to receive the inheritance? In the case of Miguelón, a somewhat slow villager who has had his eye on town beauty Yurima since childhood, the announcement that he is now filthy rich could prove pivotal in helping him get the girl he's always pined after. Later, after the two become engaged and embark on a lavish spending spree, a new development sends the situation spinning in a wholly unanticipated direction. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

A wealth of romantic and familial complications face a musician en route to Cuba in the comedy Cuarteto de la Habana. Walther (Ernesto Alterio) is a Spanish jazz musician who gets word from a woman in Havana named Lita (Mirtha Ibarra) that she is his mother, whom he hasn't seen since he was a baby. Walther, excited by the prospect of a family reunion, catches a flight to Cuba, where he meets Segis (Javier Camara), a man who is soon to marry Diana (Laura Ramos). When Walther meets Diana, it's love at first sight, but it turns out there's a hitch -- Diana is Lita's daughter, and though her father was not Walther's father, being half-siblings is still enough to throw a serious spanner into the works. Director Fernando Colomo previously received acclaim for his film The Butterfly Effect. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

Set amidst the austere volcanic splendor of Spain's island of Lanzarote, this period piece successfully vacillates between drama and high tragedy as it follows the romantic obsession felt by two very different men for an innocent but seductive local girl. The tale is set in a ramshackle island village during the Spanish Civil War. No sooner does young, conservative, and high-moraled Dr. Fermin (Carmelo Gomez) arrive at the pueblo than he is under in Mararia's (Goya Toledo) bewitching spell. She is interested in him too, and they briefly flirt. Freewheeling, roguish English surveyor Bertrand (Ian Glen) has also come to town on a job for the Royal Geographic Society. He too is enchanted by Mararia, and they become lovers. When Mararia becomes pregnant with Beretrand's child, the stage is set for tragedy. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi

A man finds that friendship and understanding can span many boundaries -- age, politics, and gender preference among them -- in this comedy-drama from Cuba. David (Vladimir Cruz) is a student and ardent Communist whose personal life is in something of a slump; his girlfriend recently left him to marry another man after he took her to a hotel in hopes of seducing her, and she announced that she couldn't believe anyone could make love in such an ugly room. One day, David stops by the park and gets some ice cream, where he meets Diego (Jorge Perrugoria); as if his flamboyant manner wasn't announcement enough, David is convinced that Diego must be a homosexual because he's eating strawberry ice cream, even though it's one of the rare days when chocolate is available. David is less than impressed with Diego's open criticism of Castro's regime (especially the government's persecution of gays), but he accepts an invitation to visit Diego's apartment; while David realizes that Diego has seduction on his mind, this is outweighed by the knowledge that Diego's flat houses such forbidden pleasures as Time Magazine, American record albums, and Johnny Walker Red scotch. David's friend Miguel (Francisco Gatorno) is convinced that Diego is a dangerous dissident and urges David to spy on him and pass along his findings to the government. But the more time David spends with Diego, the more he finds that he's intrigued by this very different man, and that he enjoys spending time with him; David also finds he likes Nancy (Mirta Ibarra), Diego's sexy neighbor. Helmed by legendary Cuban director Tomas Gutierrez Alea and based on a story by Senel Paz, Fresa y Chocolate was the first Cuban film to be nominated for an Oscar (Best Foreign Language Film of 1995); it also won honors at the Berlin International Film Festival and the Sundance Film Festival. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

Jorge Luis is an aspiring screenwriter and has a wife and daughter. Sissy is beautiful, blonde, and may possibly be an aspiring actress. She, too, is married. When the two of them meet at a gala screening, unaccompanied by their spouses, each pretends to be more important than they are. Jorge Luis claims he is a film director, while Sissy pretends to be an established actress. In a humorous scene where it appears that Sissy is confessing to Jorge that she is married, it turns out that she is only practicing for a screen test. Likewise, since Jorge's wife knows he is trying to get a certain director interested in his scripts, she is afraid that he is having a homosexual affair with the director in order to sell his script. Her fears are heightened when she chances on her husband playing at being feminine for the amusement of his daughter. In this comedy, telling the truth seems to be the last thing on anybody's mind. ~ Clarke Fountain, Rovi

Set in 1913 Cuba, the Spanish Letters from the Park top-bills Victor La Place as a professional letter-writer. It is La Place's job to put into words the thoughts and emotions of those too inarticulate, or too shy, to do so themselves. He is hired by timid young hot-air balloon enthusiast Miguel Paneque, who wants to send a few billet doux to his beloved. In true Cyrano fashion, La Place himself falls in love with Paneque's dream girl. Almost as lightweight as one of Paneque's balloons, Letters from the Park is an engaging new slant on an old saw. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

In this movie about a filmmaker named Oscar (Oscar Alvarez), the internationally recognized Cuban director Tomás Gutiérrez-Alea (1928-1996) tackled the problems men have in conceding authority and autonomy to women in Cuba. Oscar is researching a documentary on male attitudes and while interviewing several subjects, he learns that a husband feels he must have a higher salary than his wife, and while the bee may flit from flower to flower, the flower cannot go from bee to bee. As the extent and shape of male chauvinism begins to emerge in his research, the married Oscar falls in love with an independent-minded woman who is working on the documentary with him. At this point, male biases are brought home to his doorstep -- will he be honest and leave his wife for the woman he now loves? If not, can he really do a documentary on machismo if his vision is hampered by his own biases? ~ Eleanor Mannikka, Rovi