UNC-CH and Duke Consortium in Latin American and Caribbean Studies

Video Collection/Outreach Office

Contact Information: University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

3200 FedEx Global Education Center

Phone: (919) 843-8888 Fax: (919) 962-0398

Email: LA_films@unc.edu

LEJANIA

(Parting of Ways)

94 minutes

Directed by: Jesus Diáz

Overview:

A Cuban woman who went into exile in the US returns to Cuba after many years to see the son she left behind. She comes back with suitcases filled with clothes and appliances. The mother is upset to find that her son has married a divorced woman with a child and that his with is mulatto. She fails to reconnect with her alienated son.

Strengths and Weaknesses:

This is a sensitive film about how the revolution divided Cuban families. The Cuban refugee/immigrant story, so common in the US, is presented from the point of view of those left on the island. The film has good dramatic structure and poetic sensibility. Portraying the pains of exile and family separation. It is a compelling story of family conflict and guilt, complete with wonderful views of the city of Havana.

Although it is true that many of those who remained in revolutionary Cuba felt betrayed by family members who left, the complexity of those relationships is not explored in this film. A couple of evaluators felt the film was one-sided, presenting those Cubans who stayed on the island as having less materialistic values than their US counterparts. Another felt it was uninspired.

Introducing the Tape:

Some historical background about the Cuban Revolution, Fidel Castro, and the present political situation would be useful for US viewers. The various waves of emigration from Cuba should be explained.

Viewers could be told that before 1959, many poor Cubans, including many blacks, fled the poverty and repression of the Machado and Batista dictatorships. Immediately after the revolution, the majority of exiles were white, upper-class professionals or businessmen who lost much of their fortune as a result of the revolution. In 1979, thousands of Cubans with family in the United States were picked up at Mariel Bay by family members with boats. As a result of the current economic crisis in Cuba, amny artists and professionals, once loyal to the revolution, have left (many on rafts) to find better economic conditions.

How to Borrow this Video:

The videos owned by the UNC-Duke Consortium in Latin American and Caribbean Studies are housed in the Outreach Office of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. They are lent free of charge. For information on films and reservations, please visit http://isa.unc.edu/film/films_main.asp.

References:

Ranucci, Karen, ed. A Guide to Latin American, Caribbean, and U.S. Latino-Made Film and Video. Lanham, MD. Scarecrow Press. 1998.