Synopsis
When a young Afghan immigrant named Mina gets her first job in a nursing home, an unexpected friendship with Luis, a resident with dementia, reignites her love of music and changes her life forever.
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Cast
- Ana GoljaMina
- Louis Gossett Jr.Luis Garcia
- Shohreh AghdashlooBano Ayoub
- Lauren HollyNurse Baker
- Giacomo GianniottiKris
- Shiva NegarZahra Karzai
- Layla AlizadaShireen
- Tanner ZipchenOrderly
Recommendations
- 85
Film Threat
The Cuban does not develop everything in its screenplay to complete satisfaction. But what’s there is very good and believable. Combine that with the jaw-dropping directing and visual style, along with the pitch-perfect cast, and you are left with a compelling drama that is well worth it, flaws and all. - 69
Paste Magazine
Golja and Gossett’s joint appeal—his rascally charm, her coltish earnestness—gives The Cuban soul, shining light through the gloom of brain decline and the horrors of an ambivalent healthcare system. Who needs validation when you have heart? - 63
RogerEbert.com
The Cuban pulls together music, romance, loss, and memory into an emotional tale that spans cultures and generations. One thing connects them all: Cuban music. - 60
Variety
The real learning here ought to be that if you cast two such charismatic performers as Louis Gossett Jr. and Shohreh Aghdashloo in your movie, it would be better to clear all the Life Lesson clutter away and just let them get on with it. - 50
The Globe and Mail (Toronto)
Perhaps sensing that the rest of his story - mostly focusing around the earnest do-goodery of Golja's aide - falls emotionally flat, Navarretta lavishes attention on his two marquee players, creating tiny moments of poignancy. - 50
The Hollywood Reporter
Where the movie hits flat notes is in the way it spells out its points rather than letting friction percolate through the action. - 50
The New York Times
Complications culminate in epiphanies and brief triumphs, as is customary. But this genial, well-intentioned movie never quite lands a real emotional punch.
