The Mambo Kings
Armand Assante and Antonio Banderas are musical brothers who grew up in Cuba but left the island in the 50s to pursue a career in the United States. Cesar, the eldest, is the one who runs the business and has taken on the women. Little brother Nestor is the creative songwriter. He can't forget the woman back home in Cuba who broke his heart. Despite the songs, the film can hardly be called a musical, but rather a gripping drama about two brothers and their dreams.
In the early 1950s, Cuban brothers and musicians Cesar and Nestor Castillo fled from Havana, Cuba after getting into a violent dispute with the mobster owners of a club where they performed. Eventually ending up in New York City, the brothers work at menial jobs while attempting to revive their musical careers. At a nightclub where Cesar briefly crashes the act of mambo star Tito Puente, they make new friends and connections, as well as meeting cigarette girl Lanna Lake, who quickly falls into a love affair with Cesar.
Nestor, in the meantime, remains oblivious to other women while continuously composing his ode to his lost Cuban love, Maria Rivera. He writes version after version of the same ballad, Beautiful Maria of My Soul, until by chance one day he encounters Delores Fuentes, a shy but attentive young woman who wishes to become a schoolteacher. When she becomes pregnant, they decide to get married.
Fate intervenes one night at a club, where the Castillo brothers have a part-time job. Nestor's love ballad captures the interest of one of the customers, who turns out to be the Cuban bandleader and American television star Desi Arnaz. After a pleasant evening in Nestor and Delores's home, Arnaz invites the struggling Castillos to sing and act on an episode of his sitcom series, I Love Lucy.
Film specifications
Original title: Mambo Kings, The
Director: Arne Glimcher
Cast:
Cesar Castillo Armand Assante
Nestor Castillo Antonio Banderas
Lanna Lake Cathy Moriarty
Delores Fuentes Maruschka Detmers
Ramon - The Mambo Kings Band Pablo Calogero
Bernardito - The Mambo Kings Band Scott Cohen
Desi Arnaz Sr. Desi Arnaz Jr.
Mario - The Mambo Kings Band Mario Grillo
Pito - The Mambo Kings Band Ralph Irizarry
Johnny Bing - The Mambo Kings Band Pete Macnamara
Spoken languages: English
Subtitles: Danish,Swedish,Norwegian,Finnish
