Noel Coward and his Ensemble

B24

The novel was infinitely darker than the film.  Satire is never casually light-hearted; it has a serious purpose.  But this film is touched by the hand of slapstick artist Ernie Kovacs and, in an entirely different comedic way, Noel Coward.  As many reviewers have noted, Alec Guinness seems at a loss in more ways than one to bring together all the different strands of entirely disparate story lines that are woven around him.  The parts are indeed greater than the whole.

The one scene that I have carried with me, lo, these many years is the one where Sir Noel is having a confidential tête-à-tête with Sir Alec in a tropical garden surrounded by a rattan shell, and he suddenly shushes Sir Alec and cautiously moves to close the putative entry door. One of the best sight gags ever.

The sad thing about "Our Man in Havana" is that it came out the same year that Cuba traded in one tyrant for another.  And there is nothing funny at all about either Fulgencia Bautista or Fidel Castro.  I recommend the excellent film "Before Night Falls" for those persuaded that the latter was the lesser of two evils.  

In short, one has to choose the comedic elements over the political ones in order to enjoy the film.  And that means essentially anchoring it to the role of Noel Coward and everyone else who falls in his shadow.

score 9/10

B24 16 July 2003

Reprint: https://www.imdb.com/review/rw0071756/