Sight and Sound
"...A valid celebration of musical sophistication and ageless optimism..." 10/??/1999 p.40Total Film
"...Opulent, organic and as intoxicating as a rum binge....Terrific, truly liberating stuff..." -- 4 out of 5 stars 10/01/1999 p.97 New York Times
"...Exhilarating....A documentary that mixes music with impressionistic glimpses of urban life in Cuba..." 06/04/1999 p.E24 Box Office
"...One of the most beautiful and poetic documentaries ever made....Oscar-caliber sound recording of the live performances, coupled with a spectacularly rich sound mix, provide the cherry atop this enriching and rewarding musical feast..." -- 5 out of 5 stars 06/01/1999 p.62 USA Today
"...Wistfully sweet....There are lots of fascinating shots of modern-day Havana..." 06/04/1999 p.8E Los Angeles Times
"...Marvelous....BUENA VISTA creates a completely relaxed, welcoming feeling that couldn't be more inclusive..." 06/04/1999 p.F10 Chicago Sun-Times
"...Exhilarating....It's a remarkable story that culminates in an ecstatically received performance in New York's Carnegie Hall....It's also fiercely uplifting. It's been a long time since a film imparted such unshakable good feelings..." 06/25/1999 p.28 Wall Street Journal
"Watching the movie can induce rapture....It's a labor of love prompted by Mr. Cooder's labor of love, and the most intensely emotional work of the director's career." 07/10/2009 Boxoffice Magazine 10 of 10
One of the most beautiful and poetic documentaries ever made, Buena Vista Social Club marks master director Wim Wenders' return to a form of which he was once considered a pioneer. Even by the standards of Wenders' earlier docs, however, Buena Vista Social Club is a milestone, a loving portrait of the Cuban music legends that composer/musician Ry Cooder reassembled some years back for the hit album of the same name. The film's structure is beguilingly simple, using the group's historic Amsterdam and Radio City Music Hall concerts as the backbone of a unique musical odyssey, taking audiences into the heart of the humble Cuban neighborhoods where the music was born. As Wenders painstakingly profiles each of the legendary talents--including 80-year-old pianist Ruben Gonzalez, 95-year-old guitarist/singer Compay Segundo, velvet-voiced Ibrahim Ferrer and latin chanteuse Omara Portuondo--sounds, images, music and a powerful sense of humanity converge to form an intoxicating sensory fabric--music that is meant to be lived, not merely heard. What is especially charming is that the film is as much a journey for its subjects--many of whom are in their 70s, 80s and 90s--as for its audience. Their childlike bliss at having been rediscovered in the twilight years of their lives, the wide-eyed wonder with which they greet their first trip to New York and their profound gratitude at receiving yet another chance to share their beloved music with the world, help create a narrative as emotional and affecting as anything in a mainstream Hollywood offering... - Wade Major
| 
