Music opens doors in French director Karim Dridi's enthusiastic tribute to Cuban musical legend Miguel Del Morales. Although it's billed as "a musical road movie," there's no real structure to the film. The dialogue is mostly improvised (though Dridi and Pascal Letellier are credited for the screenplay), nor does the film have interviews or narration. Dridi's camera simply follow Morales, dubbed El Gallo ("The Rooster"), as he visits and jams with fellow musicians in Santiago de Cuba, Guantanamo, Camaguey, Trinidad and Havana. Dridi shot the film himself on a hand-held camera and recorded all the sound live with a single boom mike. He captures a series of impromptu performances in a variety of styles: salsa, bolero, big band and even rap. Perhaps the highlight is Morales' passionate performance of "Besame Mucho," a Mexican song that was a pop hit in the U.S.

Although the primary focus is on senior musicians like Morales, Mirta Gonzalez, Paisan Mallet and Pepin Vaillant, there also are instances in which the music crosses generations. As the older musicians perform, young people break into spontaneous dance around them. In one scene, a young rapper tries to join an improvisational performance by the older musicians who teach him the more traditional approaches to Cuban music they have developed over decades. Dridi made his feature directing debut with Pigalle (1994), a crime drama set among Paris' addicts and drug dealers. His 1995 Bye-Bye, a searing study of French racism, brought him the Award of the Youth at the Cannes Film Festival. He returned to Cannes when Cuba Feliz (2000) was invited to participate in the Director's Fortnight.

By Frank Miller