Film

Movie theaters, reviews and showtimes in New York, plus articles, trailers and more
 

Old Man Bebo (2007)

Average user rating
No reviews

Movie review

From Short Review - NY

**** (Four stars)
The enlightening narrative behind this profile of 90-year-old Cuban-music patriarch Bebo Valdés unspools slowly. What begins as a fairly conventional career chronology of this talented pianist, who had a hand in inventing the mambo, turns poignant at about the midway point, when exile in Europe pushes Valdés into a life considerably less star-studded than he had previously enjoyed. Another former star might have turned bitter before the spotlight had a chance to swing back in his direction (Valdés enjoyed a rediscovery around age 80), but instead this impresario exudes the easy grace of a born professional. If anything, the film suggests that humility is perhaps the most undervalued quality of true genius.—K. Leander Williams, Music writer

[This is a TONY staff review, written for the 2008 Tribeca Film Festival. It is not considered an official review and should not be read as such. Please think of it as a casual impression from a movie-loving friend.]

Author:

Short Review - NY

  • Print this page
  • Send to a friend

What do you think?
Post your review now

clear rating
Min 1 star. Zero stars will be treated as unrated.

*mandatory fields



Features

Golden boy

Golden boy

Atonement signals a(nother) bold step for British dynamo Joe Wright.

A lion in winter

Frank Langella hits the sweet spot in Starting Out in the Evening.

Dog day evening

Back with a taut new crime film, Sidney Lumet has plenty more to give.

Kiss of death

Goran Dukic proves that romance never dies in Wristcutters: A Love Story.

Monster in law

Jacques Vergès, infamous defender of Nazis and bombers, takes the stand in Terror’s Advocate.

Optic nerve

The eyes have it in “Views from the Avant-Garde.”

King of New York

TONY finds much to crow about at the 45th New York Film Festival.