Day of the Flowers.

Director:	John Roberts
Country:	UK
Year:	2012
Running Time:	100 mins
Principle Cast:	Eva Birthistle	Rose
	Charity Wakefield	Allie
	Carlos Acosta	Tomas
	Bryan Dick	Conway
	Christopher Simpson	Ernesto

Two young, strong-willed Glaswegian sisters Rose a left-wing activist, and Allie a fashion icon, steal their fathers ashes during his funeral wake, much to the obvious displeasure of their stepmother! The reason for this is to transport them to Cuba where it is alleged their parents were at their happiest helping and supporting Cuba’s socialist revolution. When the sisters arrive in a hot and chaotic Havana, accompanied by Rose’s kilted friend and colleague Conway, the ashes are confiscated by the local police. Many misadventures follow including meeting two local Cuban men, one they can trust and one they can’t?

 

Allie and her sister Rose.

The tag line for this film probably sums up its narrative ‘some travel light, others carry excess baggage’. The story centers mainly on Rose who certainly carries a lot of emotional baggage, where as her sister carries a lot of physical baggage including an electric toaster! (Your just have to see the film for this to be explained) Based loosely on her own experiences its written by screenwriter Eirene Houston who explained at the films World Premiere that the two sisters are based on of her own split personality and was encouraged to write the story because of her love of road movies.

 

Star of the Cuban Ballet Carlos Acosta.

John Roberts’s film is the first UK film to be made in Cuba for some years and uses a lot of local crew and extras but the most famous Cuban national to appear in the film was Carlos Acosta a Cuban ballet dancer who has danced with many companies including English National Ballet. The DoP, who was also in attendance at the film premiere, informed the audience that his task was made easier by the beautifully natural backgrounds found in that country. Eirene script for this independent film took nearly three years to complete before filming could start, the only real problem that was encountered during the shoot was the Cuban weather, which was exceptional hot and wet.

 

John Roberts, Eirene Houston and the DoP at EIFF 2012.

Although the film deals with ‘cross-cultural misunderstandings and lost illusions’ it should not be taken to seriously, Carla’s Song (1996) it’s not, but I would recommend this film for its wonderful entertainment value.