Rating: 8.8
Buena Vista Social Club (1999)
Road Movies Filmproduktion

Description

Take a spellbinding journey into the fascinating lives and passionate musical power of the Buena Vista Social Club. The legendary Cuban musicians whose Grammy Award-winning album sparked an international musical phenomenon.

Tags

Cuba


Collected reviews and ratings

9.2 The Onion A.V. Club | Joshua Klein

Wenders' colorful documentary rarely does more than simply document, though politics can be inferred: Seeing these old singers and instrumentalists smoking cigars and cavorting about like teenagers shows how culture can supercede even the most draconian trade policies.
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9.0 New York Times | Stephen Holden

Filmed in Amsterdam and New York, the concert scenes find the stage awash in such intense joy, camaraderie and nationalist pride that you become convinced that making music is a key to longevity and spiritual well-being.
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9.0 Amazon user reviews

Thank you, Ry Cooder for tracking done these hidden legends and documenting them before some of them disappeared.
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8.8 TV Guide | Sandra Contreras

Guitarist and longtime Wim Wenders collaborator Ry Cooder struck gold when he helped organize The Buena Vista Social Club, an enormously popular compilation of Cuban ballads released in 1997.
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8.8 DVD Verdict | David Rogers

An unforgettable, deeply emotional journey into the passion, pride and humanity of the artists whose music sparked a worldwide musical phenomenon.
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8.8 Reel | Mike Gregory

Buena Vista Social Club, the exuberant new documentary from German director Wim Wenders, proves that the young don't have a monopoly when it comes to making music that is both fresh and funky.
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8.0 Variety | Eddie Cockrell

Wim Wenders' pic reps not only some of the sexiest music on the planet, played by the antic musicians who refined it, but the director's most orthodox and warm work in the form to date.
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