Havana, Habana (2017)

Havana, the eve of Fidel Castro's infamous coup d'etat. Bunnie Mapplethorp, a beautiful American heiress, winds down her New Year's Eve festivities at the plush Hotel Nacional accompanied by her wealthy American friends. On her way out of the ballroom, she is drawn to the bar's TV set broadcasting news of Cuban dictator Fulgencio Batista's sudden departure from the island. Bunnie is both captivated and perplexed by this event. The following morning, after lunch with her good friend and wife of the American ambassador, Bunnie drives in her Cadillac convertible up the coast to her family's winter mansion. She plans on leaving Cuba at sunrise aboard the yacht of friends who are all sailing off to Miami together. But, for now, she just wants to say good-bye to the old place resolved to the fact 'the party is over.' In the rural area where the mansion is located, rebels are busy cleaning up stray Republican soldiers. Raul Cruz, a lieutenant in the Republican Army, is seen running through the underbrush. The rebels chase after him but he manages to escape. Their commander finds Raul's cap left behind in the dirt and ponders Raul's direction. Sometime later, Raul makes his way onto the mansion grounds. When Bunnie comes down from her bath, she finds Raul standing in her living room. Raul awkwardly introduces himself and reminds Bunnie the two of them had met there once many years before at one of her lavish parties. Bunnie has no recollection of this but she decides to offer Raul a safe haven for the night. As the evening progresses, Bunnie and Raul get to know one another better. Over dinner, they discuss the current political situation and America's imperialist involvement in Cuba. Bunnie begins to suspect Raul is really a Castro sympathizer. She is further surprised that Raul claims to have once known her former lover Eddie Martinez, a local nightclub manager who Bunnie has never gotten over. Later, after dinner, Raul and Bunnie dance a mambo together. When the music ends, Bunnie is saddened by television reports of Castro's easy take-over. Raul is sympathetic. Affections lead to passion and in no time the two end up making frenzied love, something both have needed for a long time. Shortly afterwords, Bunnie receives a telephone call learning that her childhood nanny is dying back in Havana. Bunnie plans on returning to the city immediately to be at the old woman's side but Raul cautions against it. Reluctantly, though, he agrees to go with her. In Havana, at the nanny's apartment, the old woman makes Bunnie promise that she will light a candle for her in the cathedral after she passes away. Bunnie agrees. At the cathedral, a 17th century colonial masterpiece, Raul is disgusted by the opulent religious symbols displayed all around and proclaims the Church is what really rules Cuba, not Batista nor anybody else, but this 'travesty of faith.' When he later finds himself alone before a statue of Christ on the cross, however, he is mesmerized by the statue's visage, not unlike that of Castro's he has seen earlier on TV. A profound change comes over him and he is swept away emotionally by the Christ-like charisma of Cuba's new savior 'Fidel.' Bunnie and Raul finally make it back to the mansion safely. Raul has, by now, grown impatient with Bunnie's 'American princess' behavior and he has become quite intoxicated from heavy drinking. He is behaving rudely in Bunnie's opinion which reminds her all-too-well of her ex-lover Eddie. Raul is amused at Bunnie's comparison and taunts her about Eddie's masculinity. Bunnie then realizes just who Raul really is. The two of them had, simultaneously and unhappily shared Eddie as a lover years before. Bunnie is furious that Raul had kept his identify from her. In the ensuing anger, however, Raul is overcome again by his attraction for Bunnie and he grabs for her, kissing her passionately. Bunnie is ever receptive and again, they make love. At dawn, the two lie together in each other's arms while outside, the rebels cautiously approach the mansion. Bunnie begs Raul to leave Havana with her and her friends but Raul declines. He is now a changed man. Raul explains the importance of Cuba's newfound freedom and why every Cuban patriot 'must now stay and work for her everlasting liberty.' Outside, the rebels are now on the mansion grounds. Bunnie hears something outside and goes to the window to look out. She catches a glimpse of the rebels moving up. Bunnie then hears a yacht's horn outside and she runs to the opposite window to peer out at the bay. Her friends have come to pick her up. Bunnie searches for Raul's pistol, loads it and goes into the dining room where Raul has now passed out, his head lying on the table. Bunnie raises the pistol aiming it directly at the back of Raul's skull. From the living room, we hear a pistol shot and moments later, outside, we see Bunnie hurrying down the back hillside steps toward the waiting yacht. When the rebel commander enters the mansion, he finds the living room empty. Then, he walks into the dining room where he discovers Raul's perceived lifeless body and the pistol lying on the floor nearby. The commander reaches down and picks up the pistol, contemplating. On the mansion's terrace, a young rebel waves the Cuban flag proclaiming the revolution a success while the yacht and the Americans sale off into a sparkling sea 'as the party continues.'