Tuesday, February 22, 2011

Cuban Cinema: Juan of the Dead (Juan de los Muertos)

Director Alejandro Brugués can wear the title of independent filmmaker with pride. He leads a new generation of Cuban filmmakers who are out to make their mark with or without government subsidies.  So after four years of hard work, we'll finally get to see Cuba's first zombie apocalypse movie!  Its already making a lot of positive noise at the Cannes Film Festival, so it looks like we're in for a treat.

Juan de los Muertos (Juan of the Dead) stars Alexis Diaz de Villegas and tells of the story of Juan, a malingerer turned entrepreneur who puts up a zombie-busting business. They specialize in helping people take care of zombiefied relatives and other loved ones.  He's really trying to make an easy buck since most people have a lot of emotional baggage when trying to eliminate their undead family.  

As the zombie apocalypse spirals out of control, Juan's schemes eventually goes awry. He soon finds himself contemplating his own self-preservation. Will he find his inner hero in time to save us all?


We've heard about how the island nation deals with the crisis in other books and movies, so I'm looking forward to finding out how native Cubanos make a movie about how things go down WTSHTF.  I'm eager to catch the sights & sounds of Havana.  The local color will definitely be a draw for zombie buffs and "regular" moviegoers.

Stay vigilant!





1 comment:

  1. Dear Mr. Hobo,

    Thank you! I only hope to be of service to you with the research I have been putting together.

    cheers,

    TZH

    ReplyDelete