The Buena Vista Social Club

With: Ry Cooder, Ibrahim Ferrer, Ruben Gonzalez, Eliades Ochoa, Omara Portuondo, Compay Segundo

Written and Directed by Wim Wenders

Cinematography by Jorg Widmer

In 1997, American composer Ry Cooder was assigned to Cuba with the sole purpose of finding and recording the folk music artists of the son de Cuba. "This deeply funky music," as Cooder describes it, was nearly extinct, and the legendary artists who performed many years ago at the famous Buena Vista Social Club, now an empty, decaying building, had been long forgotten. Through persistence and luck, Cooder was able to find these living legends among the rotting Spanish facades and bleak back streets of Havana's hidden districts. Learning their music and earning their respect, Cooder made the album, which became an international hit.

Attracted by the music, filmmaker Wim Wenders became committed to documenting the artists, their music and the stories behind these ancient warriors who have so deeply captured the soul of the Cuban people. This incredible documentary explodes with musical energy. The probing camera of Wenders goes far beyond the music and time worn faces of the aging artists to reveal the child-like nature of these joyful men and women. Some of the artists (many in their eighties) appear barely able to walk yet when they come together on stage to perform, they soar. Wenders follows them through the streets of Havana, visits their homes, listens to their stories, records the joyful rapport between them, and captures their deeply felt integrity and commitment to the music. The camera shows the wonder of these artists as they feel the applause from excited crowds, in concert in Amsterdam and Carnegie Hall in New York.

The music is infectious, the camerawork is brilliant and the artists are memorable. This documentary is successful because of its truth and honesty in its tribute to these remarkable musicians. A lasting testament, thanks to Cooder and Wenders, to a music the world almost lost.

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