Evocative, authentic rhythms and stunning Caribbean vistas combine in this lighthearted, fish-out-of-water comedy about family secrets and failing ideals.
As one of the world鈥檚 last socialist nations, with endless sunshine and the legacy of everyone鈥檚 favourite rebel, Cuba holds a romantic place in the popular imagination, even for many people who have never visited. It鈥檚 a country venerated for its health service and high literacy rates, but one whose citizens have to survive on rations, and in which political dissent is brutally stamped out. John Roberts鈥 (War of the Buttons, Paulie) latest feature length film, Day of the Flowers, uses the country鈥檚 stunning scenery and socialist present and past as the backdrop for a universal tale of mismatched siblings finally bonding over their parent鈥檚 death.
Rosa, an ideological socialist, and Ailie, a fun-loving shopaholic, are sparring Glaswegian sisters who epitomise chalk and cheese. When Rosa learns that their well-to-do stepmother plans on making a golf trophy of their late father鈥檚 ashes, she steals them in a farcical scene and concocts an elaborate plan to scatter them in Trinidad de Cuba on the 鈥淒ay of the Flowers.鈥 While Rosa is initially dismissive of her sister鈥檚 decision to join her, through their arguments, discoveries and misadventures, the two girls uncover the darker side of Rosa鈥檚 utopia and their family鈥檚 past. Despite its serious expositions on politics and the evolving nature of families, Day of the Flowers is essentially a warm comedy that occasionally runs into clich茅, but also provides a love letter to its perennially romantic setting.
At times, the film offers its audience a glimpse of realities that can be deeply moving, and the poverty and desperation of Cuba鈥檚 young criminals could have been heartbreaking in heavier hands. Ernesto, a young Cuban who manipulates Rosa鈥檚 tourist dollars from her, is a man on the edge of destruction, and his scream of 鈥淚鈥檓 dying here鈥 is harrowing after the attempted rape of Rosa. It is this juxtaposition with Ailie鈥檚 good-time-gal antics, and the comedic cultural misunderstandings of Rosa, that can make the tone of the film uncomfortable at times. As a viewer you are expecting one thing, but something else happens. Roberts acknowledges this difficulty in balancing 鈥渓ooking at things that are quite serious,鈥 and the light touch that remains the essence of Eirene Houston鈥檚 script. It鈥檚 the script that leads the way because Roberts 鈥渦sed the instincts of the writer: there鈥檚 part of it written from experience, and she does tend to see the lighter side of these experiences that are dangerous.鈥 Ernesto鈥檚 chilling cry is based on something that Roberts himself heard from a cab driver, and he acknowledges, 鈥測ou can鈥檛 really ignore that,鈥 so that 鈥渂oth these sides are running in parallel.鈥
Politically Cuba鈥檚 history and present system are fascinating, made all the more so by its perpetual diplomatic war with the USA, but interestingly, while Rosa鈥檚 admiration for the country is clear, surprisingly there is very little political comment in the film. Landing in Havana, Rosa sighs at 鈥渇inally setting foot on socialist soil鈥 but quickly turns to bribery and corruption when her father鈥檚 ashes are seized by authorities (in contrast to Ailie鈥檚 more pragmatic, bureaucratic and ultimately successful approach). And while Roberts admits 鈥渨e were aware that there was a political story in it,鈥 the appeal of the film very much remains within the angle of the sisters and their individual journey: 鈥淭he personal story interested me far more than any particular political angle that I might have, so I tried to avoid that.鈥 Furthermore, 鈥渆very time we tried to beef up the political story, it kind of crushed the lightness out of it; it deflated it and the whole thing became sort of leaden.鈥 Seeing the country and its operations and bureaucracy meant that Roberts 鈥減ersonally wouldn鈥檛 be uncritical about [Cuba鈥檚 politics]. There are issues there; it鈥檚 just that they weren鈥檛 part of this particular story.鈥
It is this focus on Ailie, and Rosa in particular, and her journey from stubborn, almost childlike, naivety, to a more spontaneous, considerate individual, that brought Roberts to Houston鈥檚 screenplay in the first place: 鈥淚 fell in love with the script after about four pages. I liked something about the relationship between the two sisters and the fact that Rosa was in some sort of crisis.鈥 For Roberts, it was that combination of this 鈥渟erious thing鈥 and the 鈥渉umour鈥 and 鈥渨ay it was handled very lightly鈥 that attracted him. The jovial script combines with Stephen Warbeck鈥檚 original soundtrack and diverse source music to create a wonderful element of escapism in the film while also keeping the story of these girls at its heart. One of the main impressions taken away from the film is of its fantastically evocative music and soundtrack, and this is Roberts鈥 great success. By combining authentic Cuban sounds with Warbeck鈥檚 original score, Day of the Flowers melds these girls鈥 universal story with the narrative of the country as a whole. With the score, it was 鈥渧ery quickly decided that we wouldn鈥檛 go down the route of trying to create a Cuban sound,鈥 because the whole team struggled with its authenticity. 鈥淎lthough we had great players in the session, we couldn鈥檛 really replicate that very distinct Cuban sound, so [Warbeck] went down a different route of putting together a small band and scored something that had a slightly Latin feel but that was much less about Cuba and much more about the emotional journey of the sisters.鈥 Here Roberts emphasises the story at the heart of the film, and Cuba鈥檚 place as merely its backdrop.
Throughout the film, however, smatterings of lesser-known Cuban acts create a sound that takes you straight to the Caribbean, and the romance that both Ailie and Rosa feel for the country (for very different reasons). For the project, Roberts鈥 music supervisor 鈥渟coped out some of the slightly less well-known Cuban acts: I wanted to find something that鈥檚 not Buena Vista because there鈥檚 more than that out there.鈥 The result is an eclectic mix of fusion sounds, Reggaton and salsa: 鈥淲e wanted to get lots of source music to reflect the contemporary Cuba as much as possible.鈥 This contemporary mix is also reflected in the film鈥檚 stylised aesthetic, a mash up of 1970s and 1980s Soviet products, clothing and architecture with more stereotypical 1950s design. From his initial recce to the country, Roberts immediately noticed that 鈥渢here were a lot of material objects from the 1970s and 1980s that were produced in Eastern Europe, which was interesting. We tried to get beyond dealing with the clich茅s.鈥 As a result, Day of the Flowers is musically and visually surprising, and an eye-opener to everyone who has notions about the country in their head: 鈥淚 know people will see it and wonder if that is what it鈥檚 like in Cuba, but there are far more levels to it and to the culture there.鈥
In contrast to the introduction of these unexpected and lesser-known elements of Cuban culture, Roberts emphasises the difficulty of capturing Western preconceptions of the country on film: 鈥淧eople have an idea of how they expect Cuba to look visually, and I found that we had to work quite hard to create that look.鈥 Months of location hunting and explorations of the country and its culture gave Roberts a 鈥渧isual idea,鈥 but one that was so fleeting that 鈥渆verything I saw and thought would be fantastic in the film, we had to go and recreate. Inevitably the few times that we tried simply to film stuff on the hoof and capture it as it was happening, we were restricted by the way things work in Cuba,鈥 with the consistent need to alert authorities and apply for permits. On Rosa鈥檚 escape from Ernesto鈥檚 home, the crew managed to achieve one of these off-the-cuff moments as she passes wild horses in the field. It鈥檚 a beautiful, romantic and haunting moment that speaks of wildness and freedom, however it contrasts dramatically with the harrowing scenes of Ernesto鈥檚 desperate family only moments before.
In spite of these difficulties, and as with many visitors before him, Roberts fell for Cuba鈥檚 charms, and this affection is clear throughout Day of the Flowers鈥 visual language and cinematography: 鈥淥n one level it鈥檚 a very frustrating place but, in terms of filming there, we had a fantastic time, and the people are extraordinary 鈥 you get taken into their homes and get to walk into their lives.鈥 For Roberts a major attraction was the lack of marketing and advertising, creating the look of 鈥渁 city that you almost couldn鈥檛 get anywhere else in the world.鈥 Describing billboards and street markings as 鈥渢he stuff that destroys the look of the place,鈥 he says that their absence created a blank canvas out of the cityscape that really allowed for beautiful imagery and framing. And while filming was restrictive at times, especially when posed with the problem of capturing typical Cuban scenes, Roberts expresses surprise about 鈥渢he amount of access that we had. I was very surprised [because] we were able to witness all these areas that aren鈥檛 necessarily regarded as the proudest parts of the Cuban experience 鈥 people鈥檚 kind of drab lives and the more run-down places.鈥 From a cultural viewpoint, the Cubans were so co-operative because 鈥渋t鈥檚 very important to them right now that Cuba is seen as being open to that kind of creative mindset.鈥 Ultimately the film鈥檚 lighthearted treatment was its saving grace because 鈥渋n the past the only films that seemed to get made there were about people trying to escape the system, and ours wasn鈥檛 about that 鈥 it was a much lighter treatment.鈥
However, the combination of weighty subject matter and superficial treatment is hard at times. And while Charity Wakefield is endearing as the younger, less difficult sister Ailie, the character of Rosa is so irritating at times that it is a challenge for Eva Birthistle to elicit enough empathy from the audience to ally viewers truly with her transition. This might be due to the slightly more incredulous elements of the script, which somewhat suspend disbelief, but it鈥檚 also down to the occasionally difficult tone that the film has taken. In his first major film role, world renowned dancer Carlos Acosta is, however, funny and charmingly understated as the well-meaning Cuban tour guide and family man, although the chemistry between Rosa and Acosta鈥檚 Tomas is fraught. While 鈥渢he part was originally written with him in mind,鈥 Roberts says, 鈥渢he fact that we got him was kind of fortuitous,鈥 and, although he plays a genial, easy-going character, Acosta鈥檚 quiet performance is one of the film鈥檚 major bonuses. Roberts鈥 initial concerns on casting a stage performer were quickly allayed: 鈥淗e didn鈥檛 want to be the weak link, [but] the very first time we did a quick read I knew straight away. It was very natural to him. His instincts are absolutely of the screen actor, his movements are very little but they are very focused, so I鈥檝e got to say I didn鈥檛 have to do anything.鈥 Given his successful career as a dancer, 鈥渢here鈥檚 no doubt that he can hold an audience鈥, but the contrast between performances is marked. 鈥淭he weird thing is that he [performs] in front of 30,000 people at the O2 or the Royal Ballet and has to make these huge gestures, but actually here he has to do the reverse, with the camera five feet away, and do very little. He felt within his comfort zone with the part, but the truth is that, the few times he had the chance to push at the edges of that, you could see where he could go as an actor.鈥 And while Acosta fans might be disappointed at the lack of his famous dancing, this was a conscious decision to explore this new avenue: 鈥淢y instinct was that he wasn鈥檛 playing a great dancer, and we didn鈥檛 want it to be about how well he danced, and he got that. I think it would鈥檝e been a bit cheesy because it wasn鈥檛 the part.鈥
Herein lies the crux of Day of the Flowers, in its respect of the story and its characters while painting a rough view of the world around them. This is not a gritty, realist portrayal of the hardships and political difficulties of life in Cuba, but it is a universal, often told story about family, friendship and the secrets that lie hidden in our pasts. With a wonderful soundtrack, and capturing Cuba鈥檚 exceptional and unique beauty, Day of the Flowers creates a romantic escape with a recognisable storyline at its heart.
Day of the Flowers is released this November. .
Ruby Beesley
