Andy Garcia is one of the most underrated actors of our generation. So it's a pleasure to report that in "For Love or Country: The Arturo Sandoval Story," Garcia gives an Emmy Award worthy performance.
Sandoval was a Cuban trumpeter whose talents caught the eye of a touring Dizzy Gillespie, played by the talented Charles Dutton. Gillespie that helped Sandoval, and ultimately Sandoval's family, escape to the United States. The framework for the film is Sandoval pleading his case for asylum with U.S. embassy interviewer David Paymer.
Garcia executive produced the film, and he obviously feels passionately about the plight of Sandoval and other musicians in Cuba who felt stifled by the Castro regime's attempts to dictate what kind of music they played. This view is understandable, since Garcia is Cuban-American.
The problem is that Paymer continually asks why Sandoval feels he should be granted asylum, and Garcia can't come up with a good enough answer. Certainly Sandoval suffered financially in Cuba, as almost everyone else has. And certainly his musical freedom of expression suffered under Communism. But just as Garcia can't convince Paymer to grant his request for asylum (Gillespie eventually intercedes on his behalf) he fails to convince us.
Sandoval was a Cuban trumpeter whose talents caught the eye of a touring Dizzy Gillespie, played by the talented Charles Dutton. Gillespie that helped Sandoval, and ultimately Sandoval's family, escape to the United States. The framework for the film is Sandoval pleading his case for asylum with U.S. embassy interviewer David Paymer.
Garcia executive produced the film, and he obviously feels passionately about the plight of Sandoval and other musicians in Cuba who felt stifled by the Castro regime's attempts to dictate what kind of music they played. This view is understandable, since Garcia is Cuban-American.
The problem is that Paymer continually asks why Sandoval feels he should be granted asylum, and Garcia can't come up with a good enough answer. Certainly Sandoval suffered financially in Cuba, as almost everyone else has. And certainly his musical freedom of expression suffered under Communism. But just as Garcia can't convince Paymer to grant his request for asylum (Gillespie eventually intercedes on his behalf) he fails to convince us.