The Last Match
The Last Match
NR | 04 May 2013 (USA)
The Last Match Trailers

Cuba is not a country for young gays. Teen rent boy Reinier falls in love with a mate in the slum soccer field in their neighbourhood in Havana. Although obsessed with moneymaking to hold up his baby, teen wife, and wife's grandma, gambler Reinier always fails to get the stroke of luck he looks for. At the same time he cannot help being infatuated by Yosvani. Handsome Yosvani will give up his older, wealthy girlfriend (whom he hooked up to pay for a lavish life in the big city), and the work he does for her father, a loan thug, so much in love he is with Reinier. But the boys would fight hard to keep this love in the reckless Havana streets.

Reviews
Alicia I love this movie so much
Peereddi I was totally surprised at how great this film.You could feel your paranoia rise as the film went on and as you gradually learned the details of the real situation.
Robert Joyner The plot isn't so bad, but the pace of storytelling is too slow which makes people bored. Certain moments are so obvious and unnecessary for the main plot. I would've fast-forwarded those moments if it was an online streaming. The ending looks like implying a sequel, not sure if this movie will get one
Zlatica One of the worst ways to make a cult movie is to set out to make a cult movie.
Bene Cumb I am sure life was not easy in Cuba before the Castros, but in spite of their nice slogans and levelling activities (often compelling), living conditions have worsened, particularly after the collapse of the socialist camp since 1990ies. So many continue or have been forced to live in poverty, and those wealthier are often engaged in dubious trades.All this we can see in Spanish-Cuban La Partida, where daily life is ruled by earning and adoring money, and even sexuality is subject to this, no matter what God or nature has determined. And deviations from this, including feelings and caring, do not end / work out as in fairy-tales... Performances are brave and distinct, at least 1 point from me for that, plus the viewers obtain images how living and infrastructure in present Havana look like, and probably would feel pity and sad.In XXI century, Cuban people deserve much more than doddering revolutionaries are willing and able to offer.
donwc1996 There is no question this film is a brilliant achievement, yet it posed some large issues for me. First, it was filmed in Cuba and that really was a shock because of the U.S. boycott on all things Cuban which has existed for decades and which I have never really understood. Let's not forget that President Kennedy was killed specifically because of U.S Cuban policy which at the time was to assassinate Castro and destroy communism in Cuba. How we can justify the complex relationship we have with Communist China and still boycott Communist Cuba is a conundrum to say the least. The other issue for me with this film was the fact that I was under the distinct impression that tragic gay love stories were passé and something that was better left to a previous era. This tragic gay love story for all its modern aspects still smacks of something from a lost age and that did dilute the impact of the story for me. However, there is no denying that on many levels this film is brilliant and should be part of any serious film collection on this genre.
derrickluciano A tragic love story between two soccer mates Reinier and Yosvani amidst the neighborhood slums of Havana and prostitution. What makes me love the movie is that you get to root for these seemingly real characters until the very end. We see Reinier's hand-to-mouth existence to survive for his wife and child. We see Yosvani's dependency on his girlfriend and her shark father. We see the male prostitution in the streets and how Reinier's family approves of this work to live. And then we see how the love blossom between two macho individuals living in poverty and ask themselves in the process where would this lead to. Although both are dreamy characters, Reinier is more practical in views on love and money.It is not a feel-good film but will certainly have an impact on you after watching the film.Natural acting from the main leads who are both good-looking. Fast-paced and never boring. Good slum photography.A film worth watching.
euroGary I did tick the 'spoilers' box, but it doesn't seem to be showing, so: Spoilers apply!I don't know what the legal status of homosexuality is in Cuba, but 'La Partida' is set in Havana and tells the tale of Reinier, a young father who pays for his taste in new clothes by turning tricks on the seafront at night. By day he plays football on some waste ground with a bunch of mates. One of those mates is Yosvani, who makes his living by working in the import business run by his fiancée's thuggish father. A drunken kiss from Reinier one night confuses Yosvani - he's repelled by the excesses of the seafront rent boys, but is unable to resist starting an affair with Reinier.The friend who watched this film with me pointed out that gay dramas often end with one of the protagonists dying - and so it is here, with one of our boys not alive as the end credits roll. For many film-makers, it seems, the only way for a gay romance to end is fatally! But apart from that this is an engrossing film: not so much for the romance, which follows predictable film lines, but because of the fact it is set in Cuba: how accurate is its portrayal of poverty there I am not qualified to judge, but given the self-imposed Castro regime isn't brave enough to allow free and fair elections I suspect it's fairly accurate. As for the acting, the two young leads do not disgrace themselves: Milton García as Yosvani is especially good in portraying the journey from macho tough guy to bewildered dumped lover. So this is definitely worth watching, at least once.