Friday, April 16, 2004
Ann Louise Bardach recently interviewed Oliver Stone about his new movie about Castro and Cuba. She did her job a bit too well, and it seems clear that Stone doesn't know shit about Cuba or Castro - other than what he wants to believe. I'd recommend reading the whole thing right now. Otherwise, here are some choice segments below:
Also . . .
There were so many women . . . critics have inferred misogyny of Stone, particularly based on Any Given Sunday where the women are either whores, drunks, or vicious manipulators. Finally,
It's rich that Stone can derive personal amusement from the workings of a rigged justice system. It's more appalling though that his sympathy is for Castro, rather than the people he is jailing. Some might be troubled his blanket statement, "It's a Latin thing" ("this is just how they are folks! another martini for the lady"). And his fixation on the notion that Bush is planning to invade Cuba is bizarre.
Ah well, at the end of the day, Stone can go back to his LA estate and ruminate about White House conspiracies and his charismatic buddy Fidel. All the unpleasant details he skirted around during his filming holiday in Cuba can be pushed to the side, or masked by his trademark conspiracy theories. And that is what really matters.
ALB: Now, when you were talking to the prisoners who tried to hijack a plane, one told you he was a fisherman, and you said, 'Why then didn't you take a boat?' Why did you ask that?
OS: Well, it seemed to me that if they were familiar with boats, it seemed to be the best way.
ALB: Did you know that in Cuba there are virtually no boats? The boats that are used for fishermen are tightly controlled. One of the more surreal aspects of Cuba, being the largest island in the Caribbean, is that there are no visible boats.
OS: I see.
Also . . .
ALB: Did you ask him about his relationship with Juanita in Miami?
OS: God, I don't remember. There were so many women.
ALB: Juanita is his sister.
OS: Juanita's his sister?
There were so many women . . . critics have inferred misogyny of Stone, particularly based on Any Given Sunday where the women are either whores, drunks, or vicious manipulators. Finally,
ALB: Did it strike you as interesting that at one point in the scene with the prisoners, Castro turned to the prisoners' defense lawyers, who just happened to be there, and he says, "I urge you to do your best to reduce the sentences"?
OS: I love that. I thought that was hilarious. Those guys just popped up.
ALB: Is there a show-trial element here?
OS: Yeah. I thought that was funny, I did—the prosecutor and Fidel admonishing them, to make sure they worked hard. There was that paternalism. I mean "father knows best," as opposed to totalitarianism. It's paternalism, that's what I meant. It's a Latin thing.
It's rich that Stone can derive personal amusement from the workings of a rigged justice system. It's more appalling though that his sympathy is for Castro, rather than the people he is jailing. Some might be troubled his blanket statement, "It's a Latin thing" ("this is just how they are folks! another martini for the lady"). And his fixation on the notion that Bush is planning to invade Cuba is bizarre.
Ah well, at the end of the day, Stone can go back to his LA estate and ruminate about White House conspiracies and his charismatic buddy Fidel. All the unpleasant details he skirted around during his filming holiday in Cuba can be pushed to the side, or masked by his trademark conspiracy theories. And that is what really matters.
