The film Buena Vista Social Club offers a glimpse into Cuba's capital, Havana and life in the socialist nation behind the iron curtain.
It features fun and enjoyable Cuban music.
It is a documentary about a band brought together by American music producer Ry Cooder.
Cooder went to Cuba in 1996 to round up a group of legendary old-time musicians. Their album, Buena Vista Social Club, named after a nightclub in Havana where many of the musicians performed decades ago, delighted music-lovers around the world and won a Grammy award.
German film maker and music-lover Wim Wenders follows Cooder to Havana to shoot interviews of band members and their recordings at a Cuban studio.
Wenders also tags along to shoot footage of the band's concerts in Amsterdam, the Netherlands and at Carnegie Hall in New York. Cutting between these scenes, he turns the movie into a colourful collage, which makes it stand out from the average Hollywood flick.
The musicians tell touching stories about their lives. They include guitarist Compay Segun do, 92, pianist Ruben Gonazlez, 80, lead vocalist Ibrahim Ferrer, 72, who used to be celebrated performers of the unique Cuban folk music blended with jazz and blues.
