Papeles secundarios (1989) User Reviews

Landmark Cuban film of the 80s.

[marionaito · 7/10 · 6 November 2002]

Considered by almost all Cuban critics as the most outstanding film from this country in the 80s, Papeles secundarios is important for changing the stereotypic vision held officially before by Cuban cinema. Its daring treatment of the intimate conflicts of a mature actress in a group theater as a symbol of the struggle for a personal achievement in life is combined with dramatic complexities of a love story with a young newcomer actor. A difficult and inspired film beautifully photographed.

Supporting Roles

[EdgarST · 6/10 · 8 July 2011]

Praised by Cuban critics as the best film made in the island during the 1980s, "Papeles secundarios" was a departure from the socialist realism of most productions that had been filmed in the previous decades, but in my opinion it resembled too much the fashionable dramas of those years (as the ones directed by Alan Parker, a much admired director by many Cuban filmmakers, cinephiles and film critics), with ceiling fans, smoky atmospheres, highly contrasted cinematography, and a feeling of chic angst in the midst of generalized poverty. Leading a cast of pretty faces, Luisa Pérez Nieto gave an impressive performance, but she was unfortunately not given good parts after this, and she was lost from sight when she left Cuba.