Urban desires: Melancholia and Fernando Pérez's portrayal of Havana

This essay examines Fernando Perez's film, Suite Habana (2003). The initial release of the film was met with general acclaim, and critics touted it as the inauguration of a new era in Cuban cinema. I argue that, although the film proves highly innovating in significant and compelling ways, it also must be understood within the trajectory of contemporary Cuban cinematic and cultural production. Moreover, through a careful analysis of the content and key stylistic elements, I argue that the film points precisely to the limitations of filmic and cultural expression: in the end, it portrays the melancholia produced by desires that cannot be adequately addressed in the confines of the urban and/or cinematic environment.