La Habanera
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DVD Cover Information Actor: Boris Alekin, Ferdinand Marian, Julia Serda, Karl Martell, Zarah Leander Director: Douglas Sirk Brand: Kino International Cinematographer: Franz Weihmayr Editor: Axel von Werner Producer: Bruno Duday Writer: Gerhard Menzel DVD: Region Code 1 Audio: English (Unknown); English (Subtitled); German (Original Language), Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono Format: Black & White, DVD, NTSC, Subtitled Picture Format: 1.33:1 Running Time: 98 minutes DVD Release Date: 2004-03-30 Audience Rating: Unrated Model: 3152 Studio: Kino Video Product features:
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| New | New Usually ships in 1-2 business days | $14.38 | ||
| Used | Used Usually ships in 1-2 business days | $5.00 |
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Movie Reviews of La Habanera
Movie Review: Very early Douglas Sirk film
Summary: 3 Stars
This odd pastiche of medical drama, political thriller and romantic melodrama is of curio value for two reasons. Fans of director Douglas Sirk (here still working in Germany under the name Detlef Sierck) will enjoy the chance to see him plying his trade 'way back during the Depression, and it's also an interesting example of pre-War, post-Weimar German cinema. Still, it's also quite cluttered and muddled in the plot department, and filmically its main strength is in the crisp black-and-white cinematography; the acting and the script are a little sketchy. Sirk is moderately successful trying to stir the romantic angle up into his usual hysterical fever pitch, but there isn't all that much to work with. The plot -- about an impulsive, romantic-minded Swedish gal who gives up her safe European home to live in the passionate, but ultimately grimy and dispiriting island nation of Puerto Rico -- can be seen as allegorical and topical, particularly with an awkward medical subplot showing science being distorted and bent to the will of political power, but it's still not very compelling or fun to watch. It's also hard to tell exactly where the filmmakers are coming down on the commentary about the relationship between developed nations and the Third World -- Latin America seems pretty uniformly looked down on by the "good guys" in this flick, and it certainly is funny how everyone on the island speaks German so fluently. Deutshe starlet Zarah Leander, who sings several stilted musical numbers, also doesn't do much for me; most of the acting seems hurried and unsubtle. I'd tag this as more of a treat for film scholars, rather than movie fans.