Tomás Gutiérrez Alea's Memories of Underdevelopment (1968) is a classic of Cuban revolutionary
culture and is hailed as a prime example of a radical style of 1960s political filmmaking that
became known worldwide as Latin American new cinema. Darlene J. Sadlier's detailed study
approaches this much-written-about film from a new perspective. Her analysis situates the film
in its historical context considering how Cuban political history affected and informed the
production of the film particularly its use of archival footage. She discusses the film as an
adaptation of Edmundo Desnoes's novel Memorias del subdesarrollo (1965) exploring how the
novel itself is re-written in significant ways by the film. Sadlier goes on to analyse the
curious opening of the film on an outdoor scene of Afro-Cubans dancing to the new music of
Pello del Afrokán arguing that this opening scene prefaces the film's exploration of both
class and race. She focuses on the unique style of the film particularly the use of voiceover
music and documentary footage to show how the themes of ennui isolation writing and
remembering are depicted. In doing so she highlights the film's lasting impact and its role in
defining Latin American new cinema.
