Herberto Padilla is just one of many artistically inclined people in Cuba whom Castro’s regime deemed as ‘counter-revolutionary’. This piece eventually gets to him because after all, he is the titular subject in Pavel Giroux’s documentary The Padilla Affair. Padilla is a victim of a revolution that started out as one for the people. But of course, the revolution turned against the people. There are other artists too, like people who make films facing Castro’s ire. All those destroyed, unreleased films did was capture sections of life that go against the revolution, despite their  intentions. 

The Padilla Affair captures the regime occasionally from the outside, as it shows allies’ reactions towards the crackdowns. It also shows context pertaining to the time, as well as reactions towards the crackdowns from the inside. A lot of the documentary, though, focuses on Padilla’s ‘sin’ against the regime – criticising an upcoming pro-revolutionary book. That was enough to get Castro’s attention and for him to host a press conference clarifying his actions. The press conference displays Padilla’s personality, reminding colleagues of their contribution to something that’s discarding them.

The conference speaks to the documentary’s larger themes about the disconnect between countries’ relationship with international communities. Padilla talks about the international acclaim he received when he released books that eventually get Castro to turn against him. The Padilla Affair then asks a softball question to niche viewers who are already probably on its side. Why would artists feel love everywhere except for their own country or at least, their own representative government? The overtly simple answer is that there’s a point when governments stop serving its intended purpose.

Viewers can also commend The Padilla Affair, a mid length documentary, for showing a lot of raw, uncut footage. He’s saying a lot here, and the longer he’s on the mic, the more likelihood of a downward spiral. This feels more like a nitpick, if anything, but I would not mind a version with more flesh. This isn’t my first Cuban film but some viewers may need context towards a relatively minor historical movement. Or if the documentary won’t use filler for context, maybe it needs that filler to break footage up.

Another minor nitpick about The Padilla Affair is the Reagan jumpscare but I’ll let that go for now. That scene, though, makes me feel grateful for that long press conference that is only partly about Herberto Padilla. It’s equally about family, especially his wife who reveals that Castro detaining her made her ‘understand’ the revolution. It’s also about the group of artists in the room who are seeing a lot of important red flags. They’re watching and hope that the rest of the world remembers the dangers of letting regimes act unchecked.

OVID is releasing The Padilla Affair just in time for the anniversary of the Cuban Revolution.