This movie is for people who have been in love or like watching movies about love. Though this movie isn't your cliché type of love story (it also contains aspects on the Cuban revolution) the chore of the movie revolves around love.The movie is about a simple man (Jack) who visits Havana because he loves to gamble, to meet the woman (Roberta) that would change his outlook and life forever. She fights for the resistance, against Batista, while he's not into politics at all. She's married with a man (Arturo) that is the head of the resistance in Havana. When Arturo gets kidnapped and is considered killed, Jack and Roberta have the chance to fall in love. But Jack finds out that Arturo is still alive and faces the choice of letting Roberta go or staying quite...This is one of the most real, deep and touching love stories I have seen. It contains beautiful poetic dialogues and the acting is great. A beautiful story about the meaning of love, sacrifice combined with the Cuban revolution.

This film only has 4 problems with it, that I can see. 1. Its raison d'être. 2. The screenplay. 3. The acting. 4. The directing. The actors, devoid of any visible passion, sleepwalk through their lines. The attempted "style" Pollack seems to be shooting for rings as tinny and artificial as Hollywood. The Left-loving and sun-damaged Redford does his best to act debonair, but maybe a bit too much. Lena is stunning as always, but her Prozac-induced acting serves only to make the film mildly amusing...and very mildly at that. The movie was doomed before Pollack ever yelled "action." It's as if a film school teacher hastily threw together a bunch of ingredients straight out of Casablanca, then instructed "only make it set in Havana...go!" and expected a masterpiece. Asking a viewer who's not a socialist himself to care about a cause as nefarious as Castro's Communist Cuba is a stretch for anyone with a modicum of patriotism and knowledge of history, no matter how beautiful the leading couple may try to be or how many gratuitous flesh scenes are thrown in. The parallels to the classic "Casablanca" are numerous and haranguing; from the film's city name to the suave man-about-town leading character who wonders if he should sacrifice his personal desires for a(n allegedly) greater cause, to his illicit love interest's being a married Swedish woman loyal to her husband's political passion. Besides being a shameless rip-off of an actually good motion picture, this film flops because it fails to make us care about anyone in it. Other than left-wing ideologues, who would ever feel moved to care about an adulterous gambler and a couple of communist revolutionaries? Victor Laszlo was on a valid mission--to combat the radical politics of worldwide domination, tyranny and murder. Rick and Ilsa fell in love before he ever found out about her marriage, and we cared because we felt they belonged together, yet understood the more compelling cause that forced them to remain apart. This film tried to copy a similar formula with the cause of Communist revolution, but we all know the results: a dictator far more murderous than Batista, who has kept his country mired in misery and mediocrity ever since.

I watched this movie in 93 because i was working in the casino and of course Robert Redford, one of my favorite actor. i was expecting not very big performance but i noticed that movie was excellent as it run. Actually it's best the movie ever made which describes what a real love is, although the final is drastic. On the other hand it's a good political review of the 50s between Comies & Independent followers. So it is a good movie if you spend your time with your lover after a romantic dinner and then sit and watch that spectacular movie with 2 glasses of wine. Some little action & non-boring movie even if it's 108 minute long.

A superb Havana noir set in 1958-9 and featuring three great actors, Robert Redford, Raul Julia, and Lena Olin. Lena is the object of desire for the male actors and for any living male in the audience! Robert Redford is an American gambler and poker player who works the high stakes poker games for his own account and for the Casino boss in Havana. Redford is debonair and sophisticated and a devout bachelor who is not looking for love, but it finds him. The beautiful Lena hires Redford to perform a task and he becomes deeply enamored of her. I think Lena Olin is one of the most underrated actresses in existence and also one of the most sensually beautiful. As the smitten Redford works the tables his thoughts continue to dwell on his desire, beautiful Lena, he is enthralled with her memory and must seek her to gain satisfaction. Revolutiuon is afoot and Cuba is both the best and worst of times. The Cuban scenery is beautiful. The movie will take you to a time that is past and no longer exists except in memory. A very beautiful movie with surprises and twists and turns in plot. A Sydney Pollack masterpiece. A treat awaits those who watch.