The Mambo Kings

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Aileen D @RT17276951 Sep 26, 2026 If Banderas and Asante are not truly Cuban, their acting, and that of the cast carries the day. The production and the music was first rate. I got caught up with the brothers’ excitement as they sought to wow New York with their talent and met their romantic partners. Always, the music conveyed their passion for the Cuban culture. Cecilia Cruz lent a certain authenticity and grace. A fine film. See more Feb 4, 2024 After reading the book, watching this movie was a little disappointing. Within 5 minutes, I could tell the lead actor was not a Cuban guy. After a quick google search, I saw that he is an Italian American, and it comes through clearly in the movie. His mannerisms are very New York-Italian, and it misses the mark on who Cesar Castillo is in the book. In general, the casting was not very good. Antonio Banderas played a character who is supposed to be sad and melancholic. Banderas’ charisma is a mismatch for this role, and again Banderas is not Cuban either lol. The book was so good. I just wish the movie was more true to the book and portrayed real Cuban culture. See more Feb 28, 2022 Based on the novel The Mambo Kings Play Songs of Love by Oscar Hijuelos and starring Armand Assante, Antonio Banderas, Cathy Moriarty, Talisa Soto In the 1950's siblings Caesar and Nestor Castillo leave Cuba for New York They hope to change the landscape of Latin music forever The opening shows one of Nestor's romances gone wrong, Maria a woman who married another man to save his life and Caesar ended up getting beaten Maria then urges him to take his brother to America Once they achieve their stardom in mambo music Caesar revels in the face and fortune while Nestor falls in love with a woman named Dolores but also missing him homeland Both of them go back and forth how to handle their band to their personal happiness The music in us keeps us alive and going Two fine leads in a spirited evocation of the mambo craze which swept post-war America with some lovely music See more steve d @RT35616104 Jul 10, 2020 Good performances unsatisfying story. See more Nov 14, 2012 It is definitely high energy! It has so many great actors and artists I smiled through the entire movie. The music was live and fun as well. It's a classic; two thumbs up. See more Jul 8, 2012 I thought the book was bad and at least the FIN translation was crass and closing to a bad porn. more than 10 years has past and the film is not any better. The only thing that was enjoyable was the music. For the rest... what a waste of space. At least the film was more .... clean. :) See more Read all reviews

The Mambo Kings

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