(Some Spoilers) The days are not only numbered for the year 1958 but also for the Batista regime running Cuba as well. With the Cuban rebels lead by the "Bearded One", Fidel Castro, streaming out of the Mestra Serria Mountains and linking up with thousands of supporters in the big cities like Havana and Santiago. Batista and his gang are making every attempt to get out of the island with all the loot that can carry before the rebels take over the Havana airport, Batista & Co.only escape route, and put them in front of a firing squad.

In the middle of all this chaos British mercenary Maj.Robert Dapes, Sean Connery, is hired by the Batista government to help steam the rebel tide. Arriving in Havana Robert finds that there's more then a revolution going on in Cuba. There's the stunning and beautiful Alexandra Lopez de Pulido, Brooks Adams,there for whom he's carried a torch for over fifteen years, since he was a British soldier in North Africa back in WWII.

Robert realizes right away that the situation is hopeless for the government forces and plans to get out of the country as soon as he can. Yet he's torn with fleeing Cuba an at the same time leaving his former, and now rediscovered, lover Alexandra behind. Alexandra is married to wealthy and politically connected Cuban Juan Pulido, Chris Sarandon,who besides being a good for nothing spoiled rich boy is also cheating on her. Juan is having an affair with the sexy Therese Mederos, Lon Etta McKee, who works in his cigar factory as a tobacco roller.

With everything falling apart in the confusion There's younger brother Julio, Danny De La Paz, who's a Castro supporter. Julio is out to kill Juan for his disrespecting his sister by having her treated like she's a hooker. Robert tries to get Alexandra to come with him out of the war-torn island nation but she decides to stay in her beloved Cuba and face whatever the coming Castro regime has to offer her. With Robert leaving on the last plane out of the now rebel-controlled Havana Airport we see Alexandra, on the ground, in tears watching him leave Cuba as well as her heart forever. As for Alexandra's cheating husband Juan he get's just what's coming to him at the conclusion of the movie.

The film "Cuba" shows the audience just how things were on that island nation back in late 1958 and up to New Years Day 1959 when the Castro rebels took over the country. The last days of the Batista Regime were so weird and surrealistic that most of the people there couldn't fathom just what was happening and acted as if everything was just normal; as their world was slowly collapsing all around them.

There have been many stories of people going to countries on the eve of a revolution and finding out why there's a revolution. "Cuba" is kept afloat by strong performances. Sean Connery plays Maj. Robert Dapes, sent to Havana to help Batista fight the revolutionary army, but he soon figures out that the revolution is clearly going to succeed. In the process, he meets Alexandra (Brooke Adams),an old flame now married to a philandering cigar factory owner.

I guess that overall, there's nothing here that we haven't seen before. But the way that they filmed it gives one the feeling of a society about to explode. Also starring Jack Weston, Hector Elizondo, Denholm Elliott, Martin Balsam, Chris Sarandon, Lonette McKee, and Alejandro Rey (aka Carlos Ramirez on "The Flying Nun"). Worth seeing.

One more thing that I have to ask is whether or not Sydney Pollack remade this as "Havana". The two movies don't have the exact same plots, but they're certainly pretty close.

This picture has a serious problem to start, inappropriate contract of a mercenary in such situation when Castro already had Cuba in your hands, the triangle love story is totally unbeliavable to fit in, they tried to improve the picture adding a female sexy character to Connery has some reason to stay there, the battle on cane field depose against the picture laying down at mass grave of the useless, it was so ridiculous scene, also great stars featured are quite often lost on it, for some good acting like the fine Jack Weston and Chris Sarandon 6 out 10!!!

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First watch: 1982 / How many: 3 / Source: TV-DVD / Rating: 6