Isabel Santos Movies

Director Jorge Luis Sanchez and screenwriter Abraham Rodriguez collaborate to recount the eventful life of 1950s-era Cuban bandleader Benny Moore in a non-linear biopic that begins when the mambo king was at the top of his game. The year is 1952, and hard-living bandleader Moore (Renny Arozarena) has decided to part ways with his longtime orchestra and form a new combo. Now under the management of ambitious taxi driver Olimpio (Enrique Molina), the rising star's shine quickly begins to fade as he enters into a relationship with Olimpio's niece Aida (Limara Menesses) and takes to the bottle as a means of coping with his stratospheric fame. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

Fernando Vargas' Say Good Morning to Dad consists of four short films that taken together illustrate what life is like in an unusual small town that protects a religious secret. An angel once visited the people of the town, and they have kept physical proof of the visit ever since. ~ Perry Seibert, Rovi

A Cuban exile searches for his long-lost mother, as well as his cultural heritage, in this drama. Roberto Delgado (Jorge Perugorria) is a college professor living in Miami who was born in Cuba; Roberto and his father fled Cuba shortly before the final stages of the revolution, and he grew up believing that his mother Carmen abandoned the family rather than join them in the United States. After 32 years in America, Roberto has developed a gnawing curiosity about Carmen, the mother he hasn't seen in over three decades, and decides to take a vacation in Cuba in hopes of finding her. In Havana, Roberto tracks down his cousin, Pilar (Isabel Santos), who informs him that his father actually kidnapped him, taking him to the United States against his mother's wishes, and that Carmen was so distraught by the loss of her child that she ended up in a mental institution. With Pilar's help, Roberto sets out to find his mother, with taxi driver Antonio (Mario Limonta) as their guide and driver, though it sometimes seems as if the harder they look for Carmen, the father away she seems to get. Honey for Oshun was the first Cuban production shot on digital video equipment; it received its North American premier at the 2001 Montreal Film Festival, and was later shown in competition at the 2002 Sundance Film Festival. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

Veteran director Manuel Gutierrez Aragon provided a portrait of Cubans in Spain with this Spanish film, a winner of the Silver Spike at the 1997 Valladolid Film Festival. Three sisters -- aspiring actress Nena (Violeta Rodriguez), timid Ludmila (Broselianda Hernandez), and motherly Rosa (Isabel Santos) -- travel from Havana to Madrid to stay with their aunt Maria (Daisy Granados). Aboard the same plane is Barbaro (Luis Alberto Garcia), who stays with penniless but streetwise Igor (Jorge Perugorria), a man who thinks sleeping with Spanish women is the route to upward mobility. The impoverished Igor also creates forged passports to help others depart for Miami. The three girls move in with Maria, who lives downstairs from her friend Azucena (Kiti Manver). Minus papers, the trio is employed at Maria's fur shop. Matchmaker Maria brings Rosa together with awkward Javier (Pepon Nieto), but Javier goes for Nena instead. So does Igor after he spots Nena in a Cubano bar. Igor sleeps that night at Azucena's place, and the proximity to the sisters during the long night's journey into day makes a commotion and fracas almost a certainty. The film's music blends rumba, bolero, and tango. ~ Bhob Stewart, Rovi

Those who are familiar with the details of the Cuban Revolution which put Fidel Castro into power may find this film particularly interesting. In this reverently told story, a small band of guerillas are fighting on their own, independently from the Castro-led groups. At first, they are content simply to disrupt public gatherings in a small way, but eventually they graduate to major acts of terrorism. ~ Clarke Fountain, Rovi

In this basically apolitical but uneven comedy from Cuba, Gloria (Rosita Fornes) is a feisty middle-aged woman determined to get a place to live in the very trying, overcrowded city. Her task is comparable to finding a low-rent apartment in New York, made all the more difficult by her daughter Yolanda (Isabel Santos) who keeps changing plans about where she wants to live (Gloria has every intention of moving in with Yolanda). At first, Yolanda becomes engaged to a terrific graphic artist, and mom wheedles a luxurious place to live out of a susceptible elderly woman. But Yolanda puts her marriage plans on hold when she meets Pepe and causes her mother to begin arranging other housing accommodations. Before long, poor mom has so many housing balls juggling in the air that it is certain they are all going to fall down with a crash. First-time director Juan Carlos Tabioi's opening ideas carry through for at least half of the film, but for some viewers, the repetitive motifs of mother's houses and daughter's beaux may begin to wear thin after awhile. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, Rovi