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Film: Sons Of Cuba
Release date: 20th September 2010
Certificate: E
Running time: 88 mins
Director: Andrew Lang
Starring: Yosvani Bonachea, Cristian Martinez, Santos Urguelles
Genre: Documentary
Studio: Mr Bongo
Format: DVD
Country: UK
Sons Of Cuba documents the pupils of The Havana Boxing School as they are subjected to a physically demanding training regime. Despite having an average age of 8, the pupils are pushed to their very limits - told that victory in the sport is not just a matter of personal pride but of national duty.
Cuba, 2006 and Fidel Castro has just taken ill. Paranoia begins to spread that the Americans might try and attack while their beloved leader is incapacitated.
As their country stands on a razor’s edge, a group of young boys are being indoctrinated into athletic acts of violence. The boys are told that failing is not an option, and that far from being merely a sport, boxing is Cuba’s opportunity to show that their country is the best, and that the revolution was an unmitigated triumph.
While the film focuses on a larger group of boys, our main protagonists are Cristian, a boxing prodigy, Santos, a boy whose passion for pastries stands in the way of his boxing success, and Junior, lovingly referred to as Dalmatian because of the bald spots found on his scalp.
As the day of the Under-12’s championship approaches, the training becomes more extreme, the punishments more harsh, and it soon becomes apparent that the sport, far from being a simple matter of national pride, is actually becoming detrimental to the stability of the children involved…
Sons Of Cuba ignores the emotional bombast and political posturing of so many modern documentaries. The film’s resistance to caricature and moral absolutism allows us to emotionally engage in all the characters involved. It is this skill that elevates Sons Of Cuba from other films of its ilk, leading to a movie that has genuinely aimed for a balanced account of events, allowing for opinion; both political and emotional to form at the viewer’s digression. That’s not to say that what is shown is vacant - quite the contrary. Its ability to invoke an open-ended discussion is derived from just how rich the images are. We hate seeing these children being reduced to tears by their environment, but we are allowed no villain to pin the blame on. The coach is shown as a loving and gentle man, and Castro himself is a ghost, appearing as an image on the wall, a reflection on TV screen - a holy icon. With no scapegoat in sight, we are forced to concentrate on the matter at hand, which is the children, and the relationships that they form.
This refreshingly humanist approach is aided by Andrew Lang’s beautiful images. Storms forming over Cuba, ripples in the puddles outside, and close-ups of the boys crying all invoke emotional responses as multi-layered as the political issues they explore. Images of nature, water in particular, mix the threatening (the storm clouds) with the fragile (the tears), which culminates in the ring - little children as innocent and confused as any children being forced to unleash torrents of violence and choreographed abuse (these visuals allow us to see the politics as being almost inconsequential).
While Castro and the revolution are imprinted in every part of their culture it has become so second nature that it is given no great importance. The real tragedy here is the growing link between innocence and responsibility. These are boys that are being made to take on the reasonability of men, which is not just a Cuban problem, but a worldwide one. When Santos lies cuddling into his grandmother, it is a visual reminder that these people are just children, and it is to our shame that their youth is easily forgotten in the faux-maturity they have been forced to exhibit.
But Sons Of Cuba is by no means a tear-jerker. The images that stay with you after the film’s end are images of warmth. The boys comforting each other, mother’s crying with pride. Here we have a documentary that is all the more important for focusing not on a single ideological vantage point, but on the human experience.
A beautifully shot and well considered documentary that is as emotionally engaging as it is informative. Andrew Lang’s film exhibits a fragile beauty that is never allowed to indulge in the sentimental. A filmic experience not easily forgotten. AC
Interview: Jamie Hailstone
The documentary ‘Sons Of Cuba’ tells the remarkable story behind the Havana Boxing Academy in Cuba, which has produced countless Olympic champions. Director Andrew Lang was granted exclusive access to the academy that has helped Cuba dominate Olympic boxing for the past 25 years. Lang’s film follows three young children as they train for the Under 12s category at the National Boxing Championships, what happens when Cuban leader Fidel Castro is taken ill and the country’s Olympic boxing champions defect to the USA. As the pressure grows, the young fighters discover that the fights are not just in the ring…
Cuba is famous for Fidel Castro, communism and cigars. How did you discover its remarkable track record in Olympic boxing?
I became quite interested around the time of the 2004 Olympics. Amir Khan lost to a Cuban in the final – Mario Kindelan. There was lots of press around the Cuban boxing team, who won five gold medals at that Olympics. I read this interview with Kindelan and interviewer asked why Cubans were so good at boxing. Kindelan said Cubans are fighters in all works of life. I knew from other stuff how tough life was, so I thought boxing would be the perfect way to look at the fight for survival in Cuba.
How hard was it to persuade the authorities to let you film in Cuba?
It was really difficult. I worked with a completely Cuban crew. I had these amazing Cuban fixers, who really believed in the project. They found ways for us to make this film. We had to frame it as a Cuban production. It was presented to the authorities under the title ‘Champions Of The Future’. I wasn’t the director, as we presented it to the authorities. I was an observer and my fixer was the director. It worked.
How long were you there for?
I was there for about ten months, over two years.
The regime seems pretty tough for the kids. What was an average day like for them?
They get up at 4am and train for two hours in the dark. Then they go to school, get out of school at 4pm and train again for two hours. Then they are in bed and lights out for nine. Then they get up the next day to do it all over again. They do this six days a week. They get home occasionally at weekends, but if they are near competitions then they stay at the academy for weeks on end.
You focus on three children in the film. How did you choose them?
They were all from similar backgrounds and had similar dreams. We just went for people who had a lot of personality and strong stories. We started off with a long list of seven. We filmed five and then when we edited we got rid of two.
You were also there when Cuban leader Fidel Castro fell ill and ceded power. How did that affect the people around you?
People were very nervous. The information being released was very limited and controlled, so Havana was rife with rumours. The military were very nervous. They closed off the middle of Havana. Big banners were put up saying if anyone tries to invade, the army were going to fight them. It was a really interesting time to be in Cuba.
How integral is communism to the daily way of life in Cuba?
You can’t set up a business. You can’t sell anything. You can’t have a friend to stay if they are a foreigner. Life is lived by very strict rules. It’s one of the most crippling things.
Why have the authorities spend so much time cultivating these boxing champions?
Everything that’s happened since the Cuban revolution has Fidel at the centre of it. He was a keen sportsman himself. It’s often said that if people like Fidel and Che Guevara had not played sport, then they would not have been able to wage the revolutionary war. So, as soon as the revolution triumphed in 1959, they started setting up sporting programmes. They believed what they spent in sport they would save in medical costs. Secondly, they believed in having a population able to fight any invasion. And thirdly, it’s a way of being political in an arena which is not supposed to be political, and show the prowess of the country. It’s the same way that people used to say the Soviets used sports.
What’s the secret of their success?
They just start them very young. There’s this amazing pyramid system, not only in boxing, but also in other sports like baseball. There are hundreds of clubs all other the island, and, from those local clubs, the best of the best go to academies. From the academies, the best go to national training centres. It’s a way of sieving through every child.
Did you pick up any boxing tips yourself?
I wasn’t really that into boxing as a sport. I was more interested in boxing as a way of learning about Cuba! Inevitably, when you are living around it 24/7 you do learn a bit about it!
While you were out there, several Cuban boxing champions defected. What happened there?
I met those boxers in Miami last summer. They were upset that they were Cuban Olympic champions and they were given $500 each as prize money. Of course, $500 does not go very far! They spent their money and then sold their Olympic medals on the black market. When they were on tour in Venezuela, the Cuban team announced they would take down their allowance to $10 a day. These three Olympic champions just decided to leg it. They got on a flight to Columbia, as Cuba and Venezuela are good friends. They ended up in Miami, eventually.
Were the kids back home aware of what was going on?
They don’t know much. When anyone defects from Cuba, the main policy is that they are never spoken about again. The kids know they have defected, but they don’t know why, where or how. If they ask anyone, they are just told they are traitors. If we had made the film with kids a couple of years older, they might not have been 100% behind the ideology.
Will the Cuban boxers kick our arses in 2012?
It’s getting tougher and tougher for them. So many boxers now want to defect. I think the glory days of Cuban boxing might be over, but having said that, there is such a constant stream of boxers being produced. It will last for a bit longer. JH
Film: Sons Of Cuba
Release date: 19th March 2010
Certificate: TBC
Running time: 88 mins
Director: Andrew Lang
Starring: Yosvani Bonachea, Cristian Martinez, Santos Urguelles
Genre: Documentary
Studio: Windfall
Format: Cinema
Country: Cuba/UK
Anyone with a keen interest in sport, and particularly the Olympics, will be aware that Cuba have been a dominant force in boxing – not surprising given most boxers emanate from underprivileged backgrounds, and, as this documentary starkly illustrates, conditions in this country are appalling enough to breed “fighters” (according to the film’s coach, “We Cubans are fighting from the moment we are born.”)…
This award-winning film focuses on three promising child boxers - Cristian ‘The Old Man’, Santos ‘The Singer’ and Junior ‘The Dalmation’ – who have been hand-picked to train at the Havana Boxing Academy (essentially, a detention camp) by a single-minded coach, Yosvani Bonachea, desperate to avenge a previous defeat, and so dedicated that he “can’t give his own kids the love they need.”
With unprecedented access, we follow these three talented youngsters over an eight month period, as they aim to reach the National Boxing Championships for the under-12s, where it’s win or nothing, offering an insight into how this country, despite its restrictions, has become a leader in the sport’s amateur field.
Given the country’s mistrust and contempt for outsiders (in one scene, a 10-year-old boxer talks about his fears of an eminent US military attack, and being ready to fight when that happens), it’s a major feat that Lang has been able to capture such personal and intimate moments on film – the subjects open up, and this as honest an account as you could hope for.
Most viewers will be repelled by the treatment of these children (who “enlisted now can’t quit”), a number of whom sleep on bunk beds in a small box room, and are woken daily at 4am to begin a gruelling exercise regime that is only interrupted by school (which seems to focus on brainwashing with political propaganda) – they understandably struggle to stay awake. In some scenes, the coach has them barking and howling like dogs, and in others you see the sacrifices forced upon them to ensure they are kept underweight (i.e. starving them) – what they are fed is basic, unappealing, and served on what resembles a prison food tray (or out of a bucket). Santos, in particular, struggles to keep his weight borderline anorexic (when he wants to leave, his family show zero compassion and ignore him), and is caught out when a pastry shop sends a bill to the academy. Methods to induce sweat and weight loss include covering them with mattresses as they sleep. Even their heads are shaved to ensure there is not even the smallest unnecessary additional weight.
Your views will waver, however, when the children are allowed to leave for a short home stay. Cuba is shown as bleak and crumbling, and the children return home to what are essentially slums, and broken families – Cristian’s ever competitive father, now separated from his mum, is a former Olympic and world boxing gold medallist, but given his clear despondency, and the poverty he now finds himself in, it’s a massive contradiction to the children’s belief they are competing for “a better future.”
But you can understand why these children strive for this opportunity. For now, their surroundings have been improved, and when you see the camaraderie and bonds between them (Cristian is unable to hide his upset at having to fight, and ultimately beat his friend in a forced match-up), and with their coach, who is genuinely close to the boys, showing moments of real care and emotion (tucking them into bed, shedding tears, and comforting a distraught Junior whose parents are separating), despite otherwise being a strict disciplinarian. One child describes the academy as his home, whilst another refers to people there as his family.
Still, whilst we warm to the children, and ultimately root for their success against main rivals the Matanzas (farmer’s sons who “eat stones” and can “punch you to the north pole”), what really stays with you is the empty look in their eyes and continuous emotional and physical distress they are forced to endure (in one scene, a group of children are stood in just their pants to be weighed, resembling a cattle market). There are also comparisons to an underground dog fight, in the manner these children are put to fight each other, providing a slightly perverted spectacle for the older audience.
Even if their lives are being marginally improved by attending this academy, it’s only because of the country’s regime, and its warped sense of pride and self-worth. As much as you can admire a country’s individual, non-capitalist footing, it’s clear this is not a just system, with children manipulated and bullied.
The film opens with Fidel Castro’s (a now fashionable, iconic, and even revered figure by many in the west) words that sport was “on the frontline” and “Fatherland or death,” and he is omnipresent throughout (from posters, wall gravity, to marches and news footage), with children under the belief their efforts were making him proud, with reading matter and schooling focussed on their “duty” - anyone that deferred from his rules (three former Olympic champions defected to the US) are said to have “betrayed” their country.
Under the pretence of examining a comparatively small subject, and with little effort to delve or force, Lang has succeeded in exposing wider socio-political issues. Deeply affecting. DH
