Rating: R
Genre:
Drama
Theatrical Release: 12/12/1990(USA)
Release Date: 11/17/1998
SubTitles: English/Espanol
Dubbed: English/French/Espanol
Sound: DD5.1/DDS
Run Time: 145 Minutes
Flags: Violence, Nudity, Adult Situations, Questionable for Children, Profanity
Distributor/Studio: Universal Studios
A cynical gambler reluctantly comes to the aid of a mysterious beauty in this interpolation of
Casablanca and the real-life Cuban revolution. Big-stakes American gambler
Jack Weil (
Robert Redford) is comfortable in the anything-goes Havana of 1958. But with
Fidel Castro out in the wilderness broadcasting revolutionary messages, it seems the good times may be on the way out. On a boat back to the island nation from the U.S. mainland,
Weil agrees to help beautiful
Bobby Duran (
Lena Olin) smuggle in some contraband by trading vehicles with her on their way through the checkpoint. He's amused to discover not jewelry, but radio transmitters squirreled away in her car. Eventually, he learns that she's the European wife of monied Cuban communist
Arturo Duran (
Raul Julia), who believes his class and status will protect him from the ruling party. When that assumption turns out to be false,
Jack finds himself sucked in by the plight of the suddenly widowed
Bobby, who remains committed to her dangerous ideals. Risking his cushy lifestyle to protect
Bobby from the coming tumult -- and from herself --
Jack must grapple with the dictates of his newfound conscience. With a supporting cast that includes
Alan Arkin and
Tomas Milian,
Havana reunited director
Sydney Pollack with
Redford and
David Rayfiel, star and co-screenwriter of
The Way We Were.
Rayfiel has also worked on a number of
Pollack pictures, stretching from 1969's
Castle Keep to 1995's remake of
Sabrina.
~ Brian J. Dillard, All Movie Guide
;)
