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Anyone who can appreciate the passion of an exceptional musical performer will definitely enjoy For Love or Country, a movie which traces the true life story of Arturo Sandoval, a Cuban jazz trumpet player. Forced to compromise his music to fit with the strict edicts of the Cuban communist Government he plans to defect so he can play the music of his choosing. His passion is for American jazz which is banned in Cuba as it is considered the music of the enemy, the US. However as fate would have it he falls head over heels for a beautiful Cuban girl, Marianela who works for the government no less. This complicated matters as now to defect would be to leave behind the woman he loved.

The movie opens as he is making an asylum request at a US embassy in Greece and his story is shown as flashbacks, including his meeting with Marianela and his musical performances in Cuba. The movie features many musical numbers written by Arturo Sandoval and they are definitely a highlight of this movie. The story traces the lives of Arturo and Marianela as they plan how they can stay together yet allow Arturo to seek his artistic freedom. The movie shows the agony that both Arturo and Marianela face when deciding their fate as it means leaving behind other loved ones and for Marianela a realisation that the government she has supported for so many years can be so cruel.

For love or Country was made for cable TV by HBO but it is an extremely well presented movie that would have looked fabulous on the big screen. The acting by Andy Garcia as Arturo and by Mia Maestro as Marianela is superb and their on screen chemistry is just brilliant. In fact Andy Garcia was nominated for a Golden Globe for his performance which makes the viewer feel part of his story and able to sympathise with how Arturo must have felt at the time. Charles S Dutton also gives an excellent performance as Dizzy Gillespie, a US jazz icon and an idol of Arturo who after hearing Arturo play in Cuba proclaimed that his sounds belonged to the whole world. He inspired Arturo to believe that he could indeed have it all –freedom and his family, and he played an integral role in facilitating his defection. There are no surprises in this story but it is an inspiring story of a talented artist that will appeal to a broad audience regardless of their taste in music.

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VIDEO
The Anamorphic Widescreen transfer captures the many contrasts of Cuba ranging from the depressive and restrictive feelings of many who live under the communist regime (through the use of mellow blue tones) to other wonderfully vibrant colourful images more typical of many Latin cultures. There is an interesting section shot in black and white that depicts Cuban street scenes filmed through the lens of Dizzy Gillespie’s home camera as Arturo drives him around Havana on their first meeting. The movie was shot on location in Miami and Puerto Rico and the scenes are convincing as a Cuban setting.

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AUDIO
Obviously the movie includes many musical pieces written and performed by Arturo Sandoval.  The Dolby Digital 5.1 Track offers crisp sound and the trumpet sound so critical to jazz music comes over well. One scene includes Arturo standing on the pitchers mound in a baseball stadium playing a trumpet for Marianela. The sounds of the music in this scene as in all other performance scenes come across with such passion that is captured beautifully and intensely in the audio track. Aside from the musical performances the film is dialogue based and this is always clear and easy to understand. There is no need for any substantial sound effects in this movie but the music enhances the entire audio experience. Use of the surround sound speakers is also limited but they are utilised in the music performances and for background sounds.

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EXTRAS
Sadly there are almost no extras with only a theatrical trailer being included. Also disappointing is that there is no Spanish soundtrack given that the setting was a Spanish speaking country.

A highly recommended DVD that brings to life a magical story of a personal quest for artistic freedom and love.