CityLife

El Cuerno de la abundancia (The Horn of Plenty)

THIS delightful comedy offers a humorous glimpse into the day-to-day life of an average Cuban village.

The draw of an inherited fortune owed to the descendants of the Castineiras family drives some of the villagers to extreme measures as they see this as the key to a better life.

The centre of the story and our onscreen narrator is Bernadito, a regular Joe with a wife and child, an overbearing mother and a grouchy father.

He and his family live in a ramshackle house with little privacy, and the modest dream of a brick wall to provide them with their own room is all he and his wife seek at first.

Elusive inheritance

As news of the inheritance reaches the town, their dreams get bigger, as do those of their vast extended family.

The close-knit nature of Cuban communities is central to the story, as it becomes clear that this is a town where everyone knows everyone, and the obtaining of the elusive inheritance would mean a better life for everyone.

Bernadito faces an added complication when he begins to fall for another woman and it becomes clear that in chasing his goldmine, he may lose sight of who he loves.

The continuous overbearing presence of Communist rule in Cuba is prevalent throughout the movie and is crucial in causing the mass of red-tape blocking the villagers from gaining their inheritance.

Allure of wealth

The lack of Western luxury items is also striking as for Bernadito and his family, the ownership of a VCR player is seen as the height of opulence.

In this respect the film is an intriguing examination of how the allure of wealth affects people ultimately the same way, regardless of their living conditions and social background.

The mostly light-hearted comedy takes a darker turn towards the film’s end, with the pressure of fighting for the inheritance and indeed the desire to obtain it, taking its toll on the increasingly desperate villagers.

It becomes clear that for many of them, they see this as their last shot at a better life.

Trials and tribulations

As our guide throughout the journey, Bernadito is a loveable rogue, warm and friendly throughout, but still shown to be flawed as he allows his passions to get the better of him.

Ultimately, he faces the twin tasks of steering the extended family through the trials and tribulations of seeking the inheritance and winning back his estranged wife.

El Cuerno de la abundancian enjoyable caper that raises many pertinent points about the human desire for wealth, and the lengths to which people will go in order to obtain it.

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