Memories of Underdevelopment (1968)

A complex character study of alienation amid tumultuous social change, from one of Cuba’s greatest filmmakers.

Based on Edmundo Desnoes’ novel, Memories of Underdevelopment is a mesmerising film showing, in the words of director Walter Salles, “that filmic precision and radical experimentation could go hand in hand”.

Sergio, a wealthy aspiring writer, decides to remain in Cuba even though his wife and friends, like many members of the middle class, have taken flight from the country. Caught between the bourgeois lifestyle he is tired of and a revolution he doesn’t understand, Sergio reflects on the recent social changes and living in an underdeveloped country, as well as his relationships with girlfriends Elena and Hanna, and his deeply flawed marriage.

The film uses a combination of fragmented narrative, documentary (real-life footage of protests and political events are incorporated) and still photographs. Witty and irreverent, this is one of the best examples of the creative and original cinema that emerged from 1960s Cuba – a stylistic tour-de-force.

1968 Cuba
Directed by
Tomás Gutiérrez Alea
Produced by
Miguel Mendoza
Written by
Tomás Gutiérrez Alea
Featuring
Sergio Corrieri, Daysi Granados, Eslinda Núñez
Running time
104 minutes

Ranked in The Greatest Films of All Time poll

Sight and Sound

Who voted for Memories of Underdevelopment

Critics

Jonathan Ali
UK
Diana Cadavid
Canada
Forrest Cardamenis
USA
Monica Castillo
USA
Cecilia Cenciarelli
Italy
Nilo Couret
USA
Gary Crowdus
USA
David Filipi
USA
Carlos A. Gutiérrez
Mexico/USA
Ehsan Khoshbakht
UK/Iran
Violet Lucca
USA
Demetrios Matheou
UK
Carlos Alberto Mattos
Brazil
James Naremore
USA
Will Noah
USA
Hannah Proctor
UK
José Quental
Brazil

Directors

Natalia Cabral
Dominican Republic
Walter Salles
Brazil

Articles related to Memories of Underdevelopment

Load more