El Cuerno de la Abundancia by Juan Carlos Tabío

Jorge Perugorria plays Bernardito, a middle-aged man trying to survive in Cuba. Everything changes in his life when a large amount of money is discovered, supposed to go to anybody who has the last name Castiñeiras, as an inheritance. As his father is a Castiñeiras, Bernardito also deserves part of the money. We are then shown, in a humorous way, all of the problems and adventures the protagonist encounters in his mission to get his hands on this “birthright”.

In this comedy about life in contemporary Cuba, the characters each have a particular idea of how it is to live in their country. Bernardito’s father supports the president and thinks it’s the only way to succeed, but his wife is angry because she and her husband can’t have a moment of privacy.

In fact, it seems like none of the characters can ever get or do what they want - not only the money but even something as natural as having sex. The director tries to show us the frustration of a whole town : it seems that they are almost there, but something always holds them back. We watch them believing (or maybe just wanting to believe) that the money is real ; they are so desperate that they’ll put their faith in almost anything, including a web page. Of course Juan Carlos Tabío (who also directed Strawberries and Chocolate) tells us all this with a smile, as if he’s saying maybe it can be hard but it’s not the end of the world, right ?

Jorge Robinet