One Way or Another

This masterpiece of Cuban cinema ingeniously integrates documentary and fiction to offer an unflinching analysis of the problems of urban life in Castro’s Cuba and the changes that are coming, one way or another. With the revolution barely a decade old, a woman and a man come to grips with racial, sexual, religious, and class conflicts carried over from the old society. Sara Gómez (the first woman to direct a feature film in Cuba) has left a legacy in this film that is as radical in its form as in the issues it portrays. She died tragically after editing the film; it was completed by Tomás Gutiérrez Alea, Julio Garcia Espinosa, and Rigoberto López. “As the title indicates, contradiction is the name of the game, and the film brilliantly counterposes macho cruelties and loyalties, socialist change and intractable traditions, revolutionary fervor and political authoritarianism” (Time Out).