¡Vampiros en La Habana! (1985)

	Also Known As: -
	Year of first release: 1985
	Director: Juan Padrón
	Actors (voices): Frank González, Manuel Marín, Irela Bravo
	Country: C, E, D
	Genre: Animation, Horror, Comedy
	Conditions of visioning: 09.07.2016, Cinema Bio, NIFFF2016
Synopsis: Werner Amadeus, son of Dracula, has emigrated to Cuba after a failed attempt at testing a formula that would allow vampires to survive in daylight. Now perfected, the formula allows his nephew Pepito to live the normal life of a young Cuban, ignorant of his origins.
Review: I can't remember when or how, but I know that I have seen this movie in the past, maybe 20 years ago, probably on the Arte TV channel as it would be the only one in France likely to show it. It is quite an original movie, being animated in Cuba in the 80's, dealing with Vampires and having an underlying political message. It was presented as part of the retrospective on Latin American Genre movies at the NIFFF2016, and introduced by the curator as one of the best and most influential movie of all times in Cuba and even Latin America. So is it up to its reputation? Actually yes. I probably missed half of the references or jokes more intended for Cubans, but I found the story very well written and more complex than its Animated nature would suggest. It is also very well put into images: starting with an introduction in still pictures, then slowly establishing clearly all the characters and their respective interests, in order to finally show an explosion of ideas during the chase that lasts for the whole third act without losing the audience. This is quite an achievement because there are about 20 recognizable characters in the movie, each with different interests: the uncle who wants to give the formula for free, the European vampires who want to sell it, the American mob who want to destroy it and keep on get richer with their indoor beaches for vampires, the police commissioner, Pepito busy with music, party and girlfriends... Technically it is also pretty good, from the backgrounds to the many funny characters animated on screen, the voices with different accents and the music. Although I could criticize that the soundtrack is too high pitched and ear-piercing (I often had to cover my ears), this is something that is easily solved when watching the movie at home thanks to the equalizer of your audio system. I am not sure to have understood the political message. Maybe the movie is pretending to criticize the government in the 30's while it does the current one at the time of release... ¡Vampiros en La Habana! belongs to the pantheon of the Animated movies for adults and can even be watched by children.
Rating: 7 /10