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''Lucía'' is a 1968 Cuban
black-and-white Black-and-white (B&W or B/W) images combine black and white to produce a range of achromatic brightnesses of grey. It is also known as greyscale in technical settings. Media The history of various visual media began with black and white, ...
drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. The drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular ...
directed by
Humberto Solás Humberto Solás (4 December 1941 – 17 September 2008) was a Cuban film director, credited with directing the film '' Lucía'' (1968), which explored the lives of Cuban women during different periods in Cuban history. His cinematic style b ...
, and written by Solás, Julio García Espinosa and Nelson Rodríguez. It was the winner of the Golden Prize and the Prix
FIPRESCI The International Federation of Film Critics (FIPRESCI, short for ''Fédération Internationale de la Presse Cinématographique'') is an association of national organizations of professional film critics and film journalists from around the wor ...
at the
6th Moscow International Film Festival The 6th Moscow International Film Festival was held from 7 to 22 July 1969. The Golden Prizes were awarded to the Cuban film ''Lucía'' directed by Humberto Solás, the Italian film ''Serafino (film), Serafino'' directed by Pietro Germi and the ...
in 1969. The film is a
period piece Period may refer to: Common uses * Period (punctuation) * Era, a length or span of time *Menstruation, commonly referred to as a "period" Arts, entertainment, and media * Period (music), a concept in musical composition * Periodic sentence (or r ...
, told in three stories in different moments of Cuban history (the
Cuban war of independence The Cuban War of Independence (), also known in Cuba as the Necessary War (), fought from 1895 to 1898, was the last of three liberation wars that Cuba fought against Spain, the other two being the Ten Years' War (1868–1878) and the Litt ...
, the
1930s File:1930s decade montage.png, From left, clockwise: Dorothea Lange's photo of the homeless Florence Owens Thompson, Florence Thompson shows the effects of the Great Depression; due to extreme drought conditions, farms across the south-central Uni ...
during the regime of
Gerardo Machado Gerardo Machado y Morales (28 September 1869 – 29 March 1939) was a general of the Cuban War of Independence and President of Cuba from 1925 to 1933. Machado was elected president in 1924 as the leader of the Liberal Party, a moderate reform ...
and the
1960s File:1960s montage.png, Clockwise from top left: U.S. soldiers during the Vietnam War; the Beatles led the British Invasion of the U.S. music market; a half-a-million people participate in the Woodstock, 1969 Woodstock Festival; Neil Armstrong ...
), all as seen through the eyes of a different woman, each named Lucía. ''Lucia'' was digitally restored by the
Cineteca di Bologna The Cineteca di Bologna is a film archive in Bologna, Italy. It was founded on 18 May 1962. Since 1989, it has been a member of the Fédération internationale des archives du film (FIAF). It has been a member of the Association des ciném ...
with funding from World Cinema Project and
Turner Classic Movies Turner Classic Movies (TCM) is an American movie channel, movie-oriented pay television, pay-TV television network, network owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. Launched in 1994, Turner Classic Movies is headquartered at Turner's Techwood broadcas ...
and later screened at the Cannes Classics section of the
70th Cannes Film Festival The 70th Cannes Film Festival took place from 17 to 28 May 2017, in Cannes, France. Spanish filmmaker Pedro Almodóvar was the president of the jury for the main competition. Italian actress Monica Bellucci hosted the opening and closing ceremon ...
in May 2017. The restored version also screened at the 55th New York Film Festival in the revivals section.


Plot


1895

The wealthy Lucía Fidelina lives with her mother in
Havana Havana (; ) is the capital and largest city of Cuba. The heart of La Habana Province, Havana is the country's main port and commercial center.Keys Key, Keys, The Key or The Keys may refer to: Common uses * Key (cryptography), a piece of information needed to encode or decode a message * Key (instrument), a component of a musical instrument * Key (lock), a device used to operate a lock * ...
to escape riots in Cienfuegos. Lucía is bored in the Keys and generally annoyed with the pettiness of her mother. One night, she spots a group helping an injured man. She later meets the injured man, Aldo, a member of the
ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Broadcasting * Aliw Broadcasting Corporation, Philippine broadcast company * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial American ...
, and begins to fall in love. Lucía and her mother return to Cuba, where she reunites with Aldo, and they begin dating. She begins working to support his revolutionary activities, and writes anti-Machado slogans with a coworker in their workplace bathroom. Aldo and his two revolutionary friends assassinate several drunken soldiers in a theater, meanwhile an anti-Machado protest Lucía and Flora take part in is violently broken up by police. The group awakens to the news that Machado has resigned, and Aldo begins clerical work in Havana in forming a new provincial government. Aldo is disgusted by Havana's bourgeoise, but is elated when he finds out Lucía is pregnant. After a night of drinking with Antonio and Flora, Aldo reveals his dissatisfaction with the revolution and Antonio agrees. Aldo is later killed in another shootout and Lucía identifies the body. Now alone, she is left to contemplate her future.


1961

Lucía is a worker on a large compound run by a
worker cooperative A worker cooperative is a cooperative owned and Workers' self-management, self-managed by its workers. This control may mean a Company, firm where every worker-owner participates in decision-making in a democratic fashion, or it may refer to one ...
. One day, she is picked up by a man, Tomás, in his truck, and the two quickly marry, spending much of their time indoors for their honeymoon. Despite the revolution, Tomás is more traditionally minded and forbids Lucía from working any longer. Attending a party at the compound, Tomás gets into a fight with a man dancing with Lucía and proceeds to board up their home to prevent her from leaving. The worker's cooperative announces that the Cuban government is sending literacy workers from Havana to the worksite to educate everyone. One arrives at Tomás's house to teach Lucía to read and write, and though resistant, Tomás is forced to allow him to do so. While teaching Lucía, the literacy worker picks up on the abusive relationship, and begins convincing Lucía to leave. After Tomás fights the literacy worker, Lucía seeks the help of Angelina, who devises a plan for her to escape. Returning home drunk, Tomás finds that she has left and quickly goes to find her. Discovering her working at a salt flat, he chases her but is apprehended by the other workers. Later as a town drunk, Tomás is approached by Lucía on a beach, who wishes to reconcile but only if he lets her work again. They argue and Tomás chases after her while a little girl laughs at them from a distance.


Cast


Part 1: Cuban War of Independence

* Raquel Revuelta as Lucía * Eduardo Moure as Rafael


Part 2: the 1930s

* Eslinda Núñez as Lucía * Ramón Brito as Aldo


Part 3: the 1960s

* Adela Legrá as Lucía * Adolfo Llauradó as Tomas


References


External links

* *
Lucia. Struggles with History
1968 films 1968 drama films Cuban black-and-white films Films directed by Humberto Solás Films set in the 1890s Films set in the 1930s Films set in the 1960s 1960s Spanish-language films Anthology films Cuban drama films Spanish-language drama films Films scored by Leo Brouwer {{1960s-drama-film-stub