Lucia

The film -- all two hours and forty minutes of it -- says with mounting energy and comic spirit as its three episodes go on that things have now changed, but that they can change only a little while machismo still reigns.

It's not just Cuba that's changing in this black-and-white epic (the first two episodes contain gripping battle scenes); it's also the role of women.

Spanning nearly 70 years of Cuban history, this extraordinary movie focuses on three generations of women whose lives reflect the society around them.

Humberto Solás' first feature, and he managed to pour in so much the frame practically burst with guerilla aesthetics - kinetic, frenetic and exciting.