Dreaming of Julia (2003)

User Rating:

6.1/10   

Director:

Juan Gerard

Writers:

Letvia Arza-Goderich (writer)
Juan Gerard (writer)

Release Date:

27 January 2006 (Mexico)

Genre:

Drama | Comedy

Plot:

The year is 1958, and in Holguín, Cuba, a boy's world is about to change forever. |

Plot Keywords:

Independent Film | Character Name In Title

Awards:

1 nomination

Cast

Harvey Keitel	...	Che
Iben Hjejle	...	Julia
Diana Bracho	...	Beta
Gael García Bernal	...	Ricky
Gabino Diego	...	Armín
Cecilia Suárez	...	Dulce
Aline Küppenheim	...	Katia
Daniel Lugo	...	Capt.Rosado
Andhy Méndez	...	The Boy
Georg Stanford Brown	...	Black Bum
Iván García	...	Mr.Marro
Marilyn Romero	...	Candita
Enrique Almirante	...	Piel Canela
Reynaldo Miravalles	...	Waldo
Enrique Jiménez	...	Papín
Farah Alfonseca	...	Carmen
Gellerman Baralt	...	Pedro
Milena Pezzi	...	Teté
Nurin Sanlley	...	Mrs.Marro
Karina Noble	...	Teresa
Flor de Bethania	...	Valdubina
Cesar Henao	...	Maxi
Juan Henao	...	Leandro
Anisa Guajardo	...	Lisa
George Marrero	...	Altar Boy
Robert Fernandez	...	Jose Carlos
Pedro Cordero	...	Manuel
Arturo Cordero	...	Miguel Marro
Gyana Mella	...	Hooker
Raffi Rivera	...	Casino Employee
Isabel Márquez	...	Josefina
Hemky Madera	...	Young Revolutionary
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Ramses Cairo	...	Capt. Rosado's Bodyguard
Sergio Carlo	...	Rebel #2
Rodrigo Montealegre	...	Reynaldo
Frank Perozo
Tony Plana	...	The narrator (voice)
Alfonso Quijada	...	Narrator
Hector Then	...	Capt. Rosado's Bodyguard

Directed by
Juan Gerard

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
Letvia Arza-Goderich		writer
Juan Gerard		writer

Produced by
Víctor Albarrán	....	line producer
Letvia Arza-Goderich	....	producer
Francesco Belfiore	....	associate producer
Jacqueline M. Bello	....	associate producer
Peggy Gormley	....	co-producer
Eberhard Kayser	....	executive producer
Harvey Keitel	....	producer
Mario Ohoven	....	executive producer
Andrew Pfeffer	....	producer
Jennifer Roth	....	co-producer
Bonnie Timmermann	....	producer
William Vince	....	executive producer

Original Music by
Edesio Alejandro
José Padilla

Cinematography by
Kramer Morgenthau

Film Editing by
Duncan Burns

Casting by
Letvia Arza-Goderich
Juan Gerard

Production Design by
Derubín Jácome

Art Direction by
Sorangel Fersobe

Costume Design by
Diana Fernández

Makeup Department
Magdalena Álvarez	....	makeup department head
Elio Durán	....	hair department head

Production Management
Mary Garcia Pimienta	....	production supervisor
Janet Kendrick	....	post-production supervisor

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Luis Gerard	....	second unit director
Melanie Grefe	....	first assistant director
Ivan Herrera	....	second assistant director
Erwin Jaquez	....	second assistant director: second unit
Exile Ramirez	....	second assistant director
Gabe Valdez	....	second second assistant director
Larry Zience	....	second assistant director

Art Department
Sylvia Conde	....	property master

Sound Department
Antonio Betancourt	....	sound
Amy Giammarco	....	post audio supervisor
Robert Hunter	....	technical support sound
Luis Antonio Landrau	....	boom operator
Johnny Ludgate	....	sound effects editor
Vince Renaud	....	sound re-recording mixer
Bill Sheppard	....	sound re-recording mixer

Special Effects by
José Granados	....	special effects

Visual Effects by
David Fred Masselink	....	film I/O coordinator
Adam Stern	....	digital compositor

Stunts
Hank Amos	....	stunt coordinator
Nick Brandon	....	stunt coordinator

Camera and Electrical Department
David Blundell	....	gaffer
Manuel Cintron	....	gaffer: second unit
Edgar Colón	....	first assistant camera: second unit
Willie Estrada	....	assistant camera
Joel Jaspan	....	key grip
Jamie Maxtone-Graham	....	director of photography: second unit
Abner Medina	....	second assistant camera
Carlos Zayas	....	camera loader

Casting Department
Ed Arenas	....	local casting
Enrique Chao	....	casting: Dominican Republic
Alison E. McBryde	....	casting associate
Gabriel Paulino	....	casting assistant
Stephen Vincent	....	casting assistant

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Bibi Delmoral	....	head wardrobe

Editorial Department
Joe Fineman	....	post-production consultant
Ryan Hogan	....	final colorist

Music Department
Natasha Duprey	....	music clearance

Other crew
Lourdes Álvarez	....	choreographer
Joan Puma	....	script supervisor
Jon Sperry	....	dialogue coach
Denis O'Sullivan	....	assistant: Harvey Keitel (uncredited)

Production Companies

• Arza-Gerard 2 Films
• Cinerenta Medienbeteiligungs KG
• Goatsingers, The
• Infinity Media
• Pfilmco

Distributors

• Inferno Distribution (worldwide)
• Velocity Home Entertainment
• Velocity Home Entertainment (2006) (USA) (DVD)
• VideoFilmes (2005) (Brazil) (DVD)
• VideoFilmes (2005) (Brazil) (VHS)

Other Companies

• DBC Sound  sound mix
• DBC Sound  temp edit
• Roundabout Entertainment  adr stage

Also Known As:

Cuban Blood (USA) (new title)

MPAA:

Rated PG-13 for violence, some sexual content and language.

Runtime:

USA:109 min (Palm Springs Film Festival)

Country:

USA | Germany | Dominican Republic

Language:

English

Color:

Color | Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

USA:PG-13

Filming Locations:

Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic

Company:

Arza-Gerard 2 Films

Trivia:

Juan Gerard tried to film in Cuba, but was unable to obtain permission; hence the film was shot in the Dominican Republic.

Another Look at Pre-Castro Cuba: An Homage to Family and Memory

CUBAN BLOOD, a direct to DVD little film, has a long history. Shot in the year 2000 in the Dominican Republic as the first film for director/writer Juan Gerard (with writing assistance from Letvia Arza-Goderich) the film began as a 3 1/2 epic about the small town of Holguín, Cuba in the year 1958, a place where the Bautista/Castro clash was not as evident as in Havana. Originally named DREAMING OF JULIA (referencing both the sole entertainment for the little town - a movie house - as well as the sole Americana Julia who plays a significant pivotal role in the story), the film was next called CUBA LIBRE and finally titled (rather inappropriately CUBAN BLOOD. Juan Gerard has yet to make another film and one can understand why.

Holguín is a pretty, peaceful town whose patriarch is Che (Harvey Keitel - and the Che is an old grandfather, not the revolutionary), married to Beta (the very talented and dignified Mexican actress Diana Bracho), who are the beloved grandparents of the little boy (Andhy Méndez) whose story this film is as narrated by off screen mature Tony Planas. The impending revolution results in a loss of power for the town and the story is a simple coming to grips with the changes that are to be inevitable. The boy meets the Americana Julia (Iben Hjejle) who befriends him; he struggles with the town youths who mimic him as a chicken; he dotes on movies he watches with his grandmother Beta; he falls in love with the older Carmen (Farah Alfonseca) who in turn is in love with a quiet revolutionary sympathizer Ricky (Gael García Bernal in his second film after his debut in AMORES PERROS); he learns of Che's infidelity to Beta; and he watches the town and his family disperse with the coming of Fidel Castro's revolution. Seeing the events of 1958 through the eyes of a child is enchanting and for the most part makes for a sweet, though saccharine, film.

Cinematographer Kramer Morgenthau takes terrific advantage of the 'year without electricity' motif and makes most of the film shot at night with candles and lanterns creating a storybook loveliness that heightens the romantic aspect of this film. Perhaps in the original 3 1/2 hour version there were better character developments - especially in the case of Gael García Bernal's very small but pivotal role, and in the use of Georg Stanford Brown as a Greek Chorus 'Black Bum' who seems to be placed to make the events unfold with some sense of order.

The supporting cast includes some strong actors: Gabino Diego, Cecilia Suárez, Aline Küppenheim, Daniel Lugo, etc whose roles were no doubt better fleshed out in the original. But it is clearly the influence of Harvey Keitel that helped Juan Gerard make this film happen. It has moments but it too often falls into the novella melodrama realm to make it work for audiences trying to figure out whether this is an historic drama or a Cuban version of 'Cinema Paradiso'-type Italian films. Grady Harp