Academy AwardÂ(r) winner* Sean Connery (Entrapment) and Brooke Adams (Gas Food Lodging) lead an all-star cast in this sweeping story of two old flames caught up in the chaos, fury and exhilaration of Cuba's revolution. Directed by Richard Lester (A Hard Day's Night) andwritten by Charles Wood (The Charge of the Light Brigade), Cuba is an exciting and "intelligent thriller" (Roger Ebert). Havana, Cuba. 1959. A tropical island paradise is on the brink of revolution. Robert Dapes (Connery), a cynical British mercenary, comes to the country at the request of one of Batista's most corrupt functionaries, General Bello (Martin Balsam). But once there, Dapes finds himself unable to ignore the brutality and depravity of the Batista regimeand unable to resist Alexandra Pulido (Adams), an old lover now married to a wealthy Cuban landowner. Surrounded by volatile guerilla fighters and the human vultures present at all coups, he must come to terms with his shifting views if he has any thought of getting out alive. *1987: Supporting Actor, The Untouchables
One of Sean Connery's least-seen films, this Richard Lester vehicle manages to be both politically astute and darkly funny at the same time. Set in Cuba as the Castro revolution is coming to fruition, it stars Connery as an aging mercenary trying to decide which side it pays to be paid by. Even as the Batista government is being overthrown, he is putting the spark to an old relationship with a factory manager (Brooke Adams), while American businessmen (particularly a well-cast Jack Weston) scramble to get the most bang for their buck. Lester's style--playing dramatic scenes while subverting them with comic business in the background--is in top form here. But this film never found an audience; too bad. --Marshall Fine