The Couch Critic LogoThe Couch Critic
MoviesTV ShowsTrendingTop ReviewedWhat to Watch

The Couch Critic

Your go-to destination for honest movie and TV show reviews from a passionate community of critics.

Discover

  • Trending
  • Movies
  • TV Shows
  • What to Watch

Community

  • Reviews

Legal

  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of Service
  • Cookie Policy
© 2025 The Couch Critic. Made by movie enthusiasts in New Zealand.Built by Hayden Thorn
Cookie Settings
This application uses TMDB and the TMDB APIs but is not endorsed, certified, or otherwise approved by TMDB.
Buena Vista Social Club
Buena Vista Social Club

Buena Vista Social Club

June 4, 1999
1h 45m
Documentary
Music
Critics
85/100
Story
82/100
Acting
88/100
Cinematography
90/100
Soundtrack
80/100

In this fascinating Oscar-nominated documentary, American guitarist Ry Cooder brings together a group of legendary Cuban folk musicians (some in their 90s) to record a Grammy-winning CD in their native city of Havana. The result is a spectacular compilation of concert footage from the group's gigs in Amsterdam and New York City's famed Carnegie Hall, with director Wim Wenders capturing not only the music -- but also the musicians' life stories.

Where to Watch

Streaming
DocPlay
Rent
Google Play Movies
Beamafilm
Buy
Google Play Movies
Streaming availability data powered by JustWatch.

Details

Director
Wim Wenders
Cast
Compay Segundo, Eliades Ochoa, Ry Cooder, Joachim Cooder, Ibrahim Ferrer, Omara Portuondo, Rubén González, Orlando 'Cachaíto' López, Amadito Valdés, Manuel 'Guajiro' Mirabal
Release Date
June 4, 1999
Production
Kintop Pictures, ICAIC, ARTE, Wim Wenders Stiftung, Road Movies, Film4 Productions

Rating Distribution

User Ratings

5 Stars65%
1235
4 Stars25%
475
3 Stars8%
152
2 Stars2%
38
1 Stars0%
0
Total: 1,900 ratings

Loading reviews...

Similar Movies

School of Rock
Movie

Fired from his band and hard up for cash, guitarist and vocalist Dewey Finn finagles his way into a job as a fifth-grade substitute teacher at a private school, where he secretly begins teaching his students the finer points of rock 'n' roll. The school's hard-nosed principal is rightly suspicious of Finn's activities. But Finn's roommate remains in the dark about what he's doing.

School of Rock

0

71%
That Thing You Do!
Movie

A Pennsylvania band scores a hit in 1964 and rides the star-making machinery as long as it can, with lots of help from its manager.

That Thing You Do!

0

69%
You, the Living
Movie

In the Swedish city of Lethe, people from different walks of life take part in a series of short, deadpan vignettes that rush past. Some are just seconds long, none longer than a couple of minutes. A young woman remembers a fantasy honeymoon with a rock guitarist. A man awakes from a dream about bomber planes. A businessman boasts about success while being robbed by a pickpocket, and so on. The absurdist collection is accompanied by Dixieland jazz and similar music.

You, the Living

0

71%
A Pentatonix Christmas Special
Movie

Celebrating the holiday season with a one-hour television event where viewers can enjoy the Grammy Award-winning musical phenomenon Pentatonix performing an array of classic holiday tracks as well as modern favorites.

A Pentatonix Christmas Special

0

70%
Sicko
Movie

A documentary about the corrupt health care system in The United States who's main goal is to make profit even if it means losing people’s lives. "The more people you deny health insurance the more money we make" is the business model for health care providers in America.

Sicko

0

74%
Nobody
Movie

Half blind and half deaf, ostraziced Cuban writer Rafael Alcides tries to finish his unpublished novels to discover that after several decades, the home made ink from the typewriter he used to write them has faded. The Cuban revolution as a love story and eventual deception is seen through the eyes of a man who is living an inner exile.

Nobody

0

65%
The Commitments
Movie

Jimmy Rabbitte, just a thick-ya out of school, gets a brilliant idea: to put a soul band together in Barrytown, his slum home in north Dublin. First he needs musicians and singers: things slowly start to click when he finds three fine-voiced females virtually in his back yard, a lead singer (Deco) at a wedding, and, responding to his ad, an aging trumpet player, Joey "The Lips" Fagan.

The Commitments

0

73%
Metallica: Some Kind of Monster
Movie

After bassist Jason Newsted quits the band in 2001, heavy metal superstars Metallica realize that they need an intervention. In this revealing documentary, filmmakers follow the three rock stars as they hire a group therapist and grapple with 20 years of repressed anger and aggression. Between searching for a replacement bass player, creating a new album and confronting their personal demons, the band learns to open up in ways they never thought possible.

Metallica: Some Kind of Monster

0

70%
Blues Brothers 2000
Movie

Finally released from prison, Elwood Blues is once again enlisted by Sister Mary Stigmata in her latest crusade to raise funds for a children's hospital. Hitting the road to re-unite the band and win the big prize at the New Orleans Battle of the Bands, Elwood is pursued cross-country by the cops.

Blues Brothers 2000

0

53%
The Doors
Movie

The story of the famous and influential 1960s rock band and its lead singer and composer, Jim Morrison.

The Doors

0

71%
Leningrad Cowboys Go America
Movie

The Leningrad Cowboys, a group of Siberian musicians, and their manager, travel to America seeking fame and fortune. As they cross the country, trying to get to a wedding in Mexico, they are followed by the village idiot, who wishes to join the band.

Leningrad Cowboys Go America

0

69%
Bandits
Movie

Four female cons who have formed a band in prison get a chance to play at a police ball outside the walls. They take the chance to escape. Being on the run from the law they even make it to sell their music and become famous outlaws.

Bandits

0

60%