The Mambo Kings

source: The Mambo Kings

When Cesar that his brother's woman married another man to save Nestor from being murdered, he decides that the time is right for them to leave Cuba and seek out their fortune in America. Arriving in a rainy New York, their relatives and friends already in NY scoff at suggestions that the brothers will walk straight into a downtown club with their music, however when Cesar is invited onto stage with Tito Puente at one such club, things look positive until a shooting spoils it all. As Cesar continues to chase his dream in his own way, Nestor finds himself dragged along, perhaps at the expense of his own dream desires. Although I personally felt that the narrative could have been deeper and the characterisation more detailed, this film is lifted by the sense of place and period that delivers a glut of passion that runs across the whole film. Although it helps if you actually like the music and the culture, this energy is used well to help raise the material, which could easily have lapsed into soapy daytime melodrama. This is not to say that it doesn't do this occasionally but the film caught me up well to the point where I was engaged by their drama even while knowing it was a bit sentimental and (occasionally) contrived. Those happy to work at the melodrama level will easily enjoy this though because it is a superior example of that "genre" and Glimcher has done a good job of delivering the plot in a serious fashion. Of course it helps that the main actors are so strong. Assante dominates the film simply because his character dominates his brother. He is full of fire and passion and he delivers the goods in a convincing way. However the more impressive performance is from Banderas. Although a more subtle character, the lack of English meant that he was delivering everything phonetically. I could not be convincing on screen in my own tongue so I can only imagine the challenge of delivering the dialogue while also being convincing emotionally. He nails it though. The two men also work well together and have a natural chemistry that was necessary to make convincing brothers. They own the film and support from Moriarty, Detmers and others never threatens them, although it is cool to have a cameo from Puente. Overall then this is an enjoyable and energetic melodrama. It occasionally gets a bit too soapy but generally it is kept above this level – mainly thanks to impassioned delivery from Assante and Banderas. Some viewers will be turned off by it for what it is but for a melodrama it was surprisingly good.

If you are into the mambo beat, and I am, that alone should make for the foundation of a good movie. Add two prime hunks of beefcake like Assante and Banderas. There is also a chance to see the incomparable Tito Puente perform. Further add the immensely talented Shakespearean-trained Roscoe Lee Browne and Desi Arnaz Jr. portraying his father, and you should have a can't-miss experience. Wrong! It starts with the directorial debut by Arne (formerly Arnold) Glimscher. Everything is angry and in-your-face. Plot motivations and character motivations are given short shrift or ignored altogether except for ubiquitous anger. The camera angles are out of control. Even the can't-miss score is mishandled and inappropriately matched to different scenes. The pacing is non-existent. The piece-de-resistance is a slow-mo death scene that even Ed Wood could have directed better. The less said about the *#@%$@* writing the better. This is one of those movies that tries to show you how macho it is by non-stop cursing. But even the non-expletive dialogue is disgusting. The performances are simply dreadful. In other comments here, I saw that someone called this Banderas' best performance. Huh??? It is, by far, his worst. He renounces it himself! He read his English phonetically and it showed. He was stiff, unconvincing, and totally out-of-sync. He's gorgeous, of course, but his character is too important for that alone to be enough. Since Armand Assante was playing off him in almost every scene, it threw his timing totally off-balance and accentuated his anger and frustration. His character also did some implausibly stupid things given his background. Cathy Moriarity does what she can in her scenes with Assante, and there he almost seems like a totally different character, one you can stand spending some time with. The stentorian Roscoe Lee Browne humiliates himself as a Cuban mobster in a pathetically phony accent. Desi Arnaz's scenes give the viewer some unintentional comic relief. Equally hilarious is the eighty-something Puente's attempt to play himself at 45. Overall, if I were ever asked to teach a class on film, I would use this as my warning lesson on what traps to avoid.

The Mambo Kings Play Songs of Love is one of those novels that, despite a fantastic story, great characters, and overall brilliance, should not be taken to the silver screen. This was a weak adaptation of what is arguably Oscar Hijuelos' best novel. Are the characters intact? Mostly. Is the music good? Yes. But the story is drastically different. Novels like this simply cannot be compressed into a standard feature-length film. Too much character development is lost (along with half of the plot!), and the standard Hollywood story changes deprive the viewer of worthwhile material. The point is, despite some points of tragedy, this film was basically a feel-good story with an uplifting ending. Maybe you could call it a "romantic tragedy." But that's not how the novel played out, and when the studio cuts out the real tragedies of the story, we the viewers pay the price.

Bouncy, splashy cocktail of a drama. Theme song Beautiful Maria is haunting. Great performances. Want to read the book.

The first time I saw this movie, I cried. It brought out emotions I did not know I had. The performances were phenomenal. I knew Antonio could sing but Armand Assante was a huge surprise! The late, great Celia Cruz acts as sort of a every woman musically narrating the story. Another musical genius, that has since left this world, is Tito Puente. His performance sets up the audience for the electricity that follows. This movie portrayed every form of love know to humans-between family, man and woman and everyone's love of music. The passions that this movie ignites, well, I haven't felt since. I can't wait till it comes out on DVD because my VHS is a little worn. When they start to count down the greatest movies of all time I hope The Mambo Kings is in the top ten!

This movie is one of my all time favorite films and i'm not ashamed to say that i shed a tear or two every time i watch this film especially near the end when cesar(ARMAND ASSANTE) is in the club and they start to play the song "beautiful maria of my soul" and he starts to think about his brother nestor(ANTONIO BANDERAS) and all the good times they had, very touching scene. The music is equally great in the film. The mambo of the 50's that came out of cuba sounds and is played well. The "clubbin feel" to it is also portrayed wonderfully, work on the weekdays and when the weekend comes it's time to head to the clubs to dance or play music. A film that i dont consider a musical in my opinion but has music in it as backgroung to a great drama between to brothers and their dreams. A great film 9 out of 10.

Warning that because I have said I cried, I felt I should say this is a bit of a spoiler...just a bit!! I have tried to see this movie several times, but only gotten pieces of it (the trials of being a working mother who gets interrupted constantly....!). I never realized how well-made it was, how amazing Antonio Banderas was (not knowing any English at the time), and how much the ending affected me. I come from a family of musicians -we're not Latino, but still, once you've decided that is your life it is very hard to do anything else- and this is a heart-breaking story of love, loss, artistic passion, family loyalty, and the effect of the time/era (1950's) on music and immigrants to the US (I'm a Canadian, but my husband is an Irish-American musician). I, too, know what it is like to have to do the "straight" job to pay the bills when all you want is to be what you were born to be. Desi Arnaz Jr. did a great job too, and the effects with the I Love Lucy Show were better than Forrest Gump! See this movie, but get your kleenex ready... .

A better than average re-hash of the standard "rags-to-riches" formula: two Cuban musicians go to New York and overcome great hardships to find success as "The Mambo Kings." Spanish speakers, who might otherwise be a receptive audience, find it strange to watch two attractive but very white guys -- one French (Armand Assante) and one Spanish (Antonio Banderas) -- pretending to be Cuban without even trying for a Cuban accent. Even Desi Arnaz, Jr., playing his father, has a pronounced English accent. Linda Ronstadt, by contrast, does a wonderful job on Perfidia, but that song is only used as background music. The incomparable Celia Cruz, whose life is a genuine Cuban rags-to-riches story, has a small part, but is mostly limited to singing in English except for a bit of the classic "Guantanamera". It's too bad the producers didn't decide to film her story instead: at least she, her music and her speech are all genuine Cuban.

There are many great movies that have been made over the past century; one of them is The Mambo Kings. In this film two brothers who are forced to leave their home land of Cuba in the early 1950's and head to America for a chance at embarking on a dream of becoming a musical powerhouse in the New York City dance hall craze. The brothers Nestor (Antonio Banderas) and Cesar (Armande Asante) Castillos form the Mambo Kings band and together become legends in their own time while facing a barrage of betrayal, lost love, success and death. This was a most opportune time for the Castillo brothers as during this time in Cuba the Batista regime was beginning to hinder down preceding the Castro dictatorship. A classic story about coming from nothing and rising to success, The Mambo Kings is one of the most beautiful stories ever written. It is an unusual movie because in that it does not stick to movie clichés or points of predictability. There were so many parts in the movie that leads one to believe that something drastic is about to occur, and then the exact opposite happens. That is what is best presented is that the story line stayed true to form as what would actually happen under the circumstances in real life. The characters in this film were played to perfection. The interaction between Cesar and Nestor seemed almost too real at times. On one end there is Cesar, has not a need for dreams in life but to be successful in his own manner by not succumbing to the temptations others present. On the other end there is the brother who is a dreamer, who wants to be successful just as his brother wants to be, but in his own way, by playing music for the sake of playing music that is from the soul. Their relationship is one of many siblings have experienced. The oldest, Cesar, is a protector, he possesses the knowledge of a wise and crafty man. While his brother, a young, naive person that could not see how things really were. It is because of these things Cesar assumes the leadership role in securing Nestor's position in life while at the same time, he is struggling to secure himself in this world in doing so. One great aspect featured was the use of cinematography. Most of the scenes were shot inside the dance halls that were very famous spots in the 50's and showed so many vibrant colors through out those scenes that one could not help but stay alert. Also, the transitions were executed quite nicely, such as the montage of Nestor and Cesar searching in the New York City streets for a club that would hire them. It really is quite remarkable. As far as the position between it being entertaining or educational is quite one sided. In my opinion this movie was more for entertainment value than it was for educational purposes. Granted it was a good depiction of the times, there were some problems with the story. While the events are true, some of the parts are a little bit inaccurate or may have been vaguely presented. One can be sure that because this film is less than two hours long, some important things may have been left out. For instance, they came to America in 1949, not 1952. This also could have been more useful historically if there were intimate details about the rest of the band that may have shifted the plot in some manner. In conclusion this is a wonderful and sad story of how if it were not for the music in our lives, many would be left with nothing. The foundation of music is in its creation is collaboration, or sharing rather, which comes from loving one another, if one cannot share the love, one is doomed. That is what was destined for the Castillos brother. All they did this in music; they could not do this for each other. Rating: 8