Rating: 
Summary: Buena Vista: A Must See Documentary
Review: Like most lovers of Latin music, I loved the CD. But as hard as it may be to believe, the video tops it. (A meaningless comparison, of course -- both are great.) Without the music the film would not exist, but Wim Wenders turns this wonderful collection of Cuban classics into visual treat. The director captures every tender moment in such a way that takes the viewer from the political-cultural climate of Cuba through the personal-familial moments of each and every member of the Buena Vista Social Club band. The viewer comes away from this visual-musical treat longing to hug every musician in the film. The film underscores -- without trying -- that music transcends politics; that people are just people. Congratulation to Ry Cooder, Wim Wenders and all the fine Cuban musicians that made this film possible!
Rating: 
Summary: Somewhat Disappointing
Review: A fairly enjoyable musical travelogue -- saved mostly by the high quality of the music itself -- but I expected more. Wenders treats everything kind of superficially -- each musician gets to say about a paragraph about his/her life and music on camera. Ibrahim Ferrer, the defacto star of the movie, gets a bit more face time, but he seems like such a fascinating character and I don't really feel that the audience gets to know him. The movie needs a story, a thread going all the way through. We know that Cooder rediscovered some of these guys, and that there used to be this Buena Vista Social Club, but we don't get a good sense of it. What history there is is usually done in voice over, often with music playing at the same time, so it's hard to take in the information. Cooder gets annoying sometimes as well -- his guitar style doesn't always fit in, and there's something irritating and a condescending about the way he relates to the other musicians. Still, worth seeing, especially in the US, where we rarely get a good look at Cuban life.
Rating:
Summary: The tapestry of life through their music
Review: A previous writer's comment, "The movie needs a story, a thread going all the way through," illustrates a major difference between North American and Hispanic thinking. While those of northern European descent tend to think and talk in a more or less linear fashion, as if following just one thread, Hispanics tend to think and talk as if weaving a tapestry of many threads. This film captures perfectly the tapestry effect in that you are not aware that a story is being told until the final scene at Carnegie Hall, when the impact, and the import, of the entire picture becomes crystal clear. You have to be comfortable with not knowing exactly where you are to handle this kind of exposition. If this is not a story of excellence forgotten and rediscovered, I don't know what it is. These people give me hope; their lives tell so many important stories! If I can create half the beauty in my old age as they do and have done with their music, I'll consider myself successful and fulfilled, indeed.
Rating:
Summary: A Stroke of Genius
Review: If you have never been to Cuba, this is a mildly amusing documentary about a chapter in the history of carribean music. If, however, you have walked through the neigborhood of Buena Vista on 70th Street in La Habana or watched the sun go down from the Malecón at the mouth of the Rio Almendares this film will make your mouth go dry and your eyes water. Vim Wenders and Ry Cooder, quite by accident discovered a cache of musicians who had played in the forties in a Cabaret called the Buena Vista Social Club that is now long gone. They have common characteristics, they are old, they were forgotten and they were and are incredibly gifted. Some have now died in their eighties and nineties. They were rescued and recorded in the nick of time. The film is apolitical and was shot digitally without apology. The CD from the sound track sold gozillions of copies and raised the export of Cuban music and musicians to be a world treasure. The type of music is called "son" and arose from the Danzon (the big dance) of the early part of the century. Played by three to six musician with uncomplicated instruments, you get to meet each of them individually. Collectively, son is "guajiro" or country boy music. The stars, including Compay Segundo, Eliades Ochoa and the charming Ibrahim Ferrar will become perpetually embedded in your memory. Until this country comes to its senses you will be deprived of the experience of this touching world, but until then you can enjoy it vicariously at the Buena Vista Social Club.
Rating:
Summary: Halfway Between a Documentary and a Concert DVD
Review: I absolutely loved the Buena Vista Social Club album, but this DVD was not all that I had hoped for. It had a nice slow pace, but it became a bit boring at times. I don't feel like I really got to know the artists, although there are some nice moments (when they are exploring New York comes to mind), it is mostly abbreviated footage from concerts and recording sessions along with some brief interviews with the performers. It shows some very flavorful images of Cuba, but I couldn't help thinking about how much money Ry Cooder must have made off of these amazingly talented musicians! He seems very aloof in the parts that show him. My biggest disappointment: I was hoping for uncut footage of the concerts, but we only get two or three uncut songs. The "El Cuarto de Tula" concert at Carnegie hall that plays during the credits is fantastic, but this DVD needs either more documentary or more music! It is somewhere in between. Also, my favorite song "De Camino a la Vereda" is nowhere to be found in this DVD.
Rating:
Summary: Not just a movie about music; the movie IS the music ...
Review: When this documentary was being filmed in 1998, the CD which was issued in 1997 had just been released and went on to win a Grammy. It had been the result of American guitarist Roy Cooder's determination to bring the musical sounds of Cuban music to the public. He then brought on the German movie director, Wim Wenders, to capture on film the music, the people and Cuba itself. The musicians are elderly, their musical skills developed from childhood and they are living memorials to the music they love. Once renowned in Cuba in the 40's and 50's, these men have lived through upheaval and changes in their country, and yet approach life with joy and freshness. The camera picks up the wrinkles, but it also picks up the twinkle in the eye of 91 year old guitarist/singer Compay Segundo who playfully talks about fathering another child to add to his family, or lead singer 70 year-old Ibraham Ferrer's affection for this wife, the 80-year old pianist Ruben Gonzolez who finds it hard to walk, but has no trouble making his fingers fly over the keyboard. Omera Portuando, the lone sultry female, adds an ageless feminine presence to the group. This is not just a movie about the music. The movie IS the music. And there are long musical sequences which will delight anyone with a serious musical interest. The movie is also about the individual people, whose interviews against the backdrop of a crumbling, but lively Cuba are testaments to the human spirit. Before they were rediscovered for this film, one of the men was shining shoes; another was working in a cigar factory. Politics are never mentioned, but the 1940s and 50s American cars and the disintegrating buildings is evidence of politics gone haywire four decades ago. The movie culminates with a concert in Carnegie Hall and the musicians' first trip to New York. Their sense of wonder in viewing the skyscrapers, looking at store windows and visiting the Empire State Building is a sharp contrast to the confines of their restricted world in Cuba, which is nevertheless rich with the spirits of this indomitable individuals. The video does lack dramatic tension, and drags in places, but I still don't hesitate to recommend it. It spite of poverty and a humble economy, the movie captures the beauty and joy of the people. And it surrounds you with music.
Rating:
Summary: The tapestry of life through their music
Review: A previous writer's comment, "The movie needs a story, a thread going all the way through," illustrates a major difference between North American and Hispanic thinking. While those of northern European descent tend to think and talk in a more or less linear fashion, as if following just one thread, Hispanics tend to think and talk as if weaving a tapestry of many threads. This film captures perfectly the tapestry effect in that you are not aware that a story is being told until the final scene at Carnegie Hall, when the impact, and the import, of the entire picture becomes crystal clear. You have to be comfortable with not knowing exactly where you are to handle this kind of exposition. If this is not a story of excellence forgotten and rediscovered, I don't know what it is. These people give me hope; their lives tell so many important stories! If I can create half the beauty in my old age as they do and have done with their music, I'll consider myself successful and fulfilled, indeed.
Rating: 
Summary: Musically Solid
Review: The film captures the live peformance of the wonderful musicians that were featured on the CD. From this perspective it is well worth owning. The ability to see Compay Segundo and Eliades ochoa perform Chan Chan live ,for example, is incredible. The documentary style and the scenes of streetlife in Havana are also very colorful and entertaining, However I must agree with some of the other reviewers that there is something off about Ry Cooder. I respect him for bringing this wonderful music and these artists the recognition they deserve but his attititude on film does seem strange and his guitar playing does not fit with some of the tunes. At one point he is performing with Rueben Gonzalez , the great Cuban pianist, and he sounds so out of place. In fact Gonzalez looks up from the keyboard with a look on his face that seemed to me to be saying."what are you doing?" I guess Cooder might have made the choice to let the music of Cuba speak for itself and just be content to film it but he chose instead to feature himself too frequently for my taste.
That aside , this is still a fine documentary and a must for anyone who enjoys latin music.
Rating:
Summary: somewhat different
Review: Watching a documentary one takes the view of who handles the wandering camera, and, at this time, this is more worthwhile than watching a studio manufactured dream- or nightmare- world.
We find a few old Cuban entertainers, retired singers, in the streets of Havana, at their homes, at rehearsal, performing in public...They have not performed for a long time, but they are ready to do it now. They speak some times plainly, other times as seasoned entertainers delighted to be at the centre of attention.
These are not stars, they are 'plain' singers, theirs faces beautiful with wrinkles. They have dignity, humanity, and a great sense of humour. They tell us their story, how they happened in this business, at a time when Cuba and its populace were mainly catering for all sorts of entertainment for the mainland Americans, before the revolution.
Buena Vista was an entertainment palace of that time, and we follow the camera through the streets of Havana, in search of that lost memory. The palace is long gone but some of the performers are there, and through their narrative, indirectly, we have a glimpse of what was lost and what was gained during that time. At the final sequence, before a performance at Carnegie Hall, these magnificent old Thespians are allowed a stroll and shopping tour in the commercial streets on New York, and we see their wonderful amazement.
We feel their difference of attitude. A rare gem, not to be missed!
Rating:
Summary: Needed another director
Review: What exactly was on Wim Wenders' mind, I wonder, when he was shooting this movie? Was he trying to make a concert film? A documentary on forgotten Cuban musicians? A travelogue of Havana locales? Well, "Buena Vista Social Club" is all those movies wrapped in one, but only one problem--it's not long enough to carry them all. Maybe it was meant as an introduction to the music, so that if you liked it, you could seek it out on your own. Either way, it's really unfortunate that there isn't a single complete song anywhere in the movie, and sequences like the one with Ry Cooder and his son riding through Havana on a motorcycle cannot serve any purpose.
Another bone to pick--most DVDs these days come with hours upon hours of extras, usually useless crap scraped off the editing room floor. One would think, then, that the producers of this DVD would try to fill in the gaps and put in the complete concert and studio performances that were captured. More likely, they'll wait a while, then try to push a 2-DVD set, then a 3-DVD remastered collector's edition, then a 4-DVD... On second though, just buy the CDs. All the music is there.
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