Los dioses rotos (2008) Reviews

• The legend of a ladies' man

  jotix1002012-07-07

  Yarini Ponce De Leon was a pimp in Havana at the beginning of the 20th century. As legend has it, he was instrumental for taking over the prostitution business which was controlled by French interests. Unfortunately, Yarini did not live too long to enjoy his triumph because he was gunned down by a rival Frenchman who also died in the struggle. Laura, a young woman working on her thesis, wants to talk to people that are involved presently in the sex business. The prostitution racket is run by Rosendo, a somewhat shady character also heavily involved in the rite of 'santeria', a Caribbean religion that originated with the black slaves brought by the Spaniards to work the land. Laura's main interest for contacting Rosendo is to clarify the existing myth about Rosendo having Yarini's scarf. In different interviews, Laura runs into Alberto, another pimp who recently returned to the island from Paris. Alberto is now trying to leave his past behind. He is at odds with Rosendo because of Sandra, who was Alberto's lover, still in love with him. Alberto is called to make an offer for the art work from a wealthy woman, now living in Mexico. The conflict will come to a head when Rosendo is told about the never ending passion between Sandra and Alberto. Directed by Ernesto Daramas, the film has some good moments as it takes the viewer to the slums of a dilapidated Havana where prostitution in now rampant. If the country was once called the "brothel for Americans", by the communist regime in Cuba, it is now a sex mecca for the kind of tourism that goes after the young women and men that practice the oldest profession for a living to get some badly needed money. This film was Cuba's candidate to the 2008 Oscars, but was not accepted.