Justin here with a look at the new documentary, Unfinished Spaces, playing as part of the Starz Denver Film Fest.
If you have any kind of passing interest at all in architecture, then you need to see Unfinished Spaces. On the same note, if you’ve never thought about how the buildings we inhabit affect our beliefs and attitudes, you need to see Unfinished Spaces. Finally, if you’re interested at all in the history of Cuba, the practical consequences of communism, or the tension ideological policies can create within creative expression, you need to see Unfinished Spaces.
In 1957, when the Cuban revolution was in full swing, Fidel Castro and Che Guevara decided to play a round of golf at Cuba’s most elite country club. While there and brimming with the spirit of revolution, they decided to turn this bastion of the elite into the world’s greatest art school. Later that afternoon, they started a chain of events that would result in Cuba’s most eminent architects breaking ground on some of the most amazing structures ever built.
The school was comprised of several different camps for different artistic disciplines, each spearheaded by different architects. Each one set out with a goal to interpret the spirit of art and revolution through their work. It’s beautiful and inspirational and very much born from the romantic conversations about revolution in cafes.
And then the honeymoon ended. Castro pulled the plug on the Schools of Art after buddying up with Russia. The main reason, it seemed, was that the highly expressive and individualized buildings were not productive, and did not fit in ideologically with communism. Of the buildings, only one was finished. They were all used as sort of ad hoc schools as well as dwelling for poor people, a school for circus performers, and at one time as a set for a sci-fi TV series.
The filmmakers in Unfinished Spaces catch up with the architects involved with the Schools of Art and interview each one at length. They are all lovable characters. Their lives and the fate of the Schools of Art become more than just fascinating stories. To some extent, they mirror the story of Cuba.
I had a tremendous affection for this movie. I suspect that if you see it, that you will too. Highly recommended.
Unfinished Spaces is playing again tomorrow at 7:15. You can buy tickets here.