This film suffered from an unfair comparison made with the supposed origin, the classic Casablanca (1942). The cruelest form of attack could probably be found in a book on screenwriting, "Good Scripts, Bad Scripts: Learning the Craft of Screenwriting Through 35 of the Best and Worst Films in History". As you might have guessed, they analysed Casablanca in the good script category and Havana in the bad script category, alleging repeatedly that it is a poor remake.

Sometimes I cannot understand why Casablanca is hailed as the best movie EVER. I like it, the way I liked many films of that time especially Bogart's. But not the best! If the above book appreciated the script, I wonder if they also know that the ripeness of the script happened by accident. It was chaotic, the production of this movie. Scripts were written virtually under the camera, and the actors confessed they didn't know what was going to happen next. It could have been a disaster. By accident, things fell into place. Did I mention that they wanted to cast Ronald Reagan and Ann Sheridan for the lead roles? Imagine that...

Coming back to Havana. It does have some dull moments. In fact, audiences who are not interested in words may want to stop watching within fifteen minutes. It is that talkative. But I like good witty dialogues, especially if I could decipher it (which is rare for a Malaysian layman like me). And combine that with beautiful cinematography and apt art direction, I went along with the ride a good two and half-hours worth.

Half-hour into the movie, I had completely forgotten its relationship the so-called origin. Of course, its a triangle love story taking place in the middle of a troubled soil. But Redford's Jack Weil is not Bogey's Rick. Weil is a compulsive card player (not a gambler, as he says in the film) looking for a big score, and instead found himself head over heels in love with Roberta Duran (Olin), wife of a revolutionary leader played by the uncredited Raul Julia. Redford delivers the kind of performance only he can, subtle and persuasive at the same time. I was especially entranced with Lena Olin's performance. Probably the best by an actress amongst the movies I've seen recently.

So, there are politics, romance and the big score. The weakest element, as is usual with many good films, is the romance. While both performers were doing their best, there is certain implausibility that we can't overlook. If you can get past that, you will enjoy the movie.

Like Casablanca, we get good support from the smaller cast. I can now take notice of Alan Arkin and look forward to see him again in other films. Even the actors playing Cuban characters are good. I guess the film owes all that to director Sydney Pollack. I haven't seen much of his film, but he certainly deserves credit for bringing dignity to this product, which might, in film history, be dismissed as another Casablanca rip-ff.