For Love or Country - The Arturo Sandoval Story

Starring:Andy Garcia, MÃa Maestro, Gloria Estefan, David Paymer, Charles S. Dutton, Tomas Milian, Freddy RodrÃguez, Andy Mendez, Felix David Manrique, JosÃ© ZÃºÃ±iga, William Marquez, Fernanda Andrade, Steven Bauer, Fionnula Flanagan, Michael O'Hagan, Miguel Sandoval, Nicky Farrell, Robert Wisdom, Oswaldo Calvo, VÃctor Trujillo
Director: Joseph Sargent
Studio: Hbo Home Video
Product Type: DVD

Editorial Review:
Amazon.com
For Love or Country: The Arturo Sandoval Story chronicles the life of a man torn between his home and his devotion to his music. In a Golden Globe-nominated performance, Andy Garcia portrays the gregarious, passionate, and obstinate Arturo Sandoval, the Grammy-winning Cuban trumpet player.

This HBO film shows how Sandoval's life in revolutionary Cuba is affected--beginning in the early 1970s--by his zeal for his music and by the limits placed on him by his homeland. Representing his torn loyalties are Dizzy Gillespie (the enigmatic jazz musician played by Charles S. Dutton) and Sandoval's wife, Marianela (played by the beautiful Mia Maestro). Gillespie embodies the freedom to follow one's dream, while Marianela represents family loyalty and the ideals of the Castro revolution. Yet, the same regime his wife embraces forces Arturo to play government-imposed music instead of the jazz that he loves. Sandoval travels the world, and while the Cuban government profits from his success, he is exposed to a freedom that eventually draws him to the difficult and life-changing decision he and his family feel compelled to make.

Amazon.com

For Love or Country: The Arturo Sandoval Story chronicles the life of a man torn between his home and his devotion to his music. In a Golden Globe-nominated performance, Andy Garcia portrays the gregarious, passionate, and obstinate Arturo Sandoval, the Grammy-winning Cuban trumpet player.

Against a backdrop of beautiful scenery and exceptional music, For Love or Country provides a harsh depiction of revolutionary Cuba, its outmoded lifestyle, and the restrictions placed on its people. --Mindy Ruehmann

Customer Reviews:

for the love of country.......2007-04-12

This is a very touching true story played beautifully by Andy Garcia.
If you are cuban, you will have a special interest in this film.

Terrific movie.......2007-01-18

This movie reveals a poignant love story as developed under the repressive regime of Fidel Castro. The music and development of characters provides excellent entertainment as well as education
into the worlds of music and Communist politics. Andy Garcia is
not only a talented actor but an excellent trumpet player as well.

Emotional journey.......2005-10-30

Since I have been unable to locate an address in which to write Mr. Garcia to explain how this film touched me, I thought this might be the next best thing. As a "natural born" citizen of the United States, I often feel overwhelming guilt for the suffering of the people who live in countries ruled by dictatorships and tyranny, while I enjoy innumerable freedoms here. Mr. Garcia has brought us a film that inspires hope, courage of conviction, and raises our awareness of the suffering still going on in his birthplace without bringing the stinging guilt that such a movie usually instills in me. I cried, then paced my apartment, then searched the Web for hours trying to find a way to contact Mr. Garcia to tell him that his message is received and appreciated.
The story is so amazing, it is almost difficult to believe that Mr. Sandavol not only lived it, but managed to see his whole family emigrate to the U.S. Thank you, HBO and Mr. Garcia, for telling a story that deserved to be told.

worth it for the hotties!.......2005-05-22

This movie deals with the fascinating subject of Cuba-US relations. Like Navratilova (sp?) and Baryshnikov (sp again?), Sandoval is a star from a Communist country who defected to the US. But more importantly, this film has the following hot actors of color in it: Charles Dutton, Stephen Bauer, Miguel Sandoval, and Andy Garcia.

Fidel Castro has got to go!.......2005-01-28

This HBO film depicts one of the world's great trumpet players and his inner and outer struggle for freedom from Castro's tyranny. His talent allows Arturo Sandoval to travel the world, but his wife and family are back in Cuba. His wife is a government employee who at first believes in the revolution until her eyes are opened to the reality behind the facade. The final straw is when Castro kills a hero of the revolution because he feels his monolithic power is threatened.

In 1990 Sandoval defects at the US embassy in Greece, but is stopped by bureaucracy until his friend Dizzy Gillespie calls the Vice President....yes, that's right, Dan Quayle the dunce. Well the only good thing Quayle ever does is speeding Sandoval through the bureaucracy. The irony here is that any Cuban who can get to the US by raft is granted US citizenship, but Sandoval is thoroughly grilled.

The film has some great jazz and Afro-Cuban music and Andy Garcia is believable and entertaining as the lead. When Castro goes, and it will be soon I hope, hopefully Cuba will have a true democratic revolution.

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