In love with Cuba (2019)

Directed by: Johan Nijenhuis | 105 minutes | comedy, drama, romance | Actors: Susan Visser, Abbey Hoes, Rolf Sanchez, Jan Kooijman, Maaike Martens, Tjebbo Gerritsma, Niek Roozen, Maarten Dannenberg, Anouk Maas, Mareya Salazar, Barbara Sloesen, Nick Vorsselman

If you are nowadays cast in the new film by Johan Nijenhuis, then you can almost bet poison that you are going to a faraway country for the recordings. After Las Vegas (‘Our boys’), Ibiza (‘In love with Ibiza’) and Italy (‘Tuscan wedding’), the successful Dutch director opted for an even more exotic destination: the island of Cuba.

‘In love with Cuba’ is about the divorced Loes (Susan Visser). Now that her son and daughter are almost on their own two feet, she has trouble giving meaning to her life. So, because she has no other choice, she continues to interfere in the lives of her children as much as possible. She especially cannot let go of her daughter Maartje (Abbey Hoes) Even though the young woman lives thousands of kilometers away in Cuba, as soon as the good news comes in that she has finally been admitted to study medicine, for which she had already been chosen twice before. , is for Loes the whole story in pitchers. What is her surprise then that Maartje herself has very different plans for the future: she is going to marry a Cuban!

Loes storms on high to her ex-husband Alex (Tjebbo Gerritsma), who has now taken a new direction with his girlfriend Machteld (Maaike Martens). Alex has long heard of Maartje’s intention and practically has the airline tickets in his pocket. Loes decides that flying to Cuba is the only option to change Maartje’s mind. No sooner said than done.

But of course everything is different in Cuba. The Dutch have to get used to the pace, the language, the customs, the hygiene and especially the flirting. Loes, son Hein and Maartje experience this firsthand. And so Maartje – partly thanks to the interference of her well-meaning, but oh so wrong acting, mother – starts to have doubts. Meanwhile, Loes is very charmed by Maartje’s Dutch neighbor, Juan (Jan Kooijman) and vice versa. But it is also very nice with Alex now and then. Does the flame between the ex-lovers flare up again, Loes finds a new love in the last place she expected and does Maartje throw her future away?

You already understand: ‘In love with Cuba’ does not demand much from the viewer. It’s the kind of movie that you can easily look away without worrying about whether it’s going to be okay and whether the characters make the right choices in the end. The makers already drop enough hints in the run-up to know how this film ends. Thanks to the solid cast, however, the wafer-thin story is quite entertaining. Of course, the jokes are usually not very clever (although liposuction does end in a funny incident). In addition, the prejudices surrounding Cuban culture are very much on top (as a Cuban production in the Netherlands would probably be about windmills and people wearing clogs). What does grace this film is that it pays attention to gender diversity, without the emphasis being on it. It is mentioned in passing, but is not a hot topic. ‘In love with Cuba’ is skillfully crafted, but doesn’t stick around for long. But that was never the intent of this film.