When the zombies attacked Cuba

After the advent of Shaun of the Dead, with all of its zombies and laughter, I really doubted that another film could come along that would make me rethink that the whole zombie-film-vehicle was overdone:

Juan of the Dead generally follows the plot-points of 2004's Shaun of the Dead, but plot itself seems beside the point. The story's just the vehicle for the acid-like burn of dark Cuban humor, which lifts the movie above the fold of genre films. The action is quick, the actors have chemistry, and the jokes about Cuba's atheism, machismo, government, tight-knit communities, and nonchalant city operators are frequent and oh-so-un-PC. The sun-washed feeling of downtown Havana jumps off the screen, and the gore is campy enough not to make stomachs turn. Suddenly, it feels like every other zombie film should have been set in Cuba—that Cuba is the only place where anyone could be counted on to survive a supernatural phenomenon and even laugh.

[Via The Atlantic]

I am curious as to why nobody saw the potential for this before. Zombies? Cuba? Of course it makes sense! What's an apocalypse, if you've already survived several?

The theme of escape from Cuba seems to be a continuous one across many films. Una Noche, Juan of the Dead and others all deal with the escape of Cuba, to the point where several actors from Una Noche claimed asylum while promoting their film in the U.S. Yet, defecting is only seen as the option for the young. Juan, from Juan of the Dead decides otherwise.

As the film progresses, though, there are just too many zombies to kill, and that's when Juan, Lázaro, Vladi, and Camila decide to take to the seas. Made from one of the old jalopies for which Cuba is known, their "boat" is cherry-red and confidence-inspiring. But when it's time for Juan to jump in, he demurs, staying waist-deep in the blue water. Camila and Vladi are young and should start new lives in Miami, but he'll stay. It's not so bad in Havana. He'll sort it out.

[Via The Atlantic]


In film class, we watched a rare Cuban film called La Ultima Cena (The Last Supper) (1976), that dealt with slavery in the sugar mills and one landowner's decision to invite 12 slaves to dinner, to teach them Christian virtues. The film ended with hope, that one could escape from the slavery and terrible conditions. The defection was seen as a choice of life and death, but the only option was to keep running for freedom.

One of the things I've learned through my immersion in Latin American culture, is that underneath the upheaval and bloodshed, there is an underlying passion and resilience. Yes, you laugh at the terrible things. Because if you stop laughing, you start crying. I've been told I have a dark sense of humor, but it seems that I've got nothing on the makers of Juan of the Dead.