7 Days in Havana

On paper this is the ideal film for forgetting, for a while, our hitherto perverse summer. In seven chapters, one for every day of the week, it sketches a portrait of today’s Havana. The intention is to avoid tourist commonplaces and penetrate to the soul of the Cuban capital. The rum made by the film’s sponsors, Havana Club, however, flows freely and tourist draws such as the old city, the Malecón (seafront esplanade and road), and the legendary Hotel Nacional are frequently seen backdrops. By entrusting the seven chapters to seven different – and quite idiosyncratic – directors, the hope was that the many-faceted character of the port city would be reflected. That hope has been only half realised: as with comparable omnibus films such as Paris, je t’aime and New York, I Love You, the quality is uneven and it is hard to see how the short films complement each other.



His directorial debut will, hopefully, have taught Benicio Del Toro that it is not yet time to put his acting career on hold, while Julio Médem is still searching desperately for his form of ten years ago. Laurent Cantet’s contribution is the most credible, but only Elia Suleiman and Gaspar Noé rise above the mediocre. A feeble film for a feeble summer.

RELEASE 1/8 ¦ By Laurent Cantet, Benicio Del Toro, Julio Médem, Gaspar Noé, Elia Suleiman, Pablo Trapero, Juan Carlos Tabío, with Josh Hutcherson, Daniel Brühl