Cuban Novella

The nationalization of banks in Cuba by Fidel Castro's government brought many worries to both the counterrevolutionaries who fled the country and the ordinary workers who found themselves called upon to run these institutions. Garcia, sent by the former owners of the bank to Roberto, its manager, persuades him to help him break into the bank building to steal the checks of the American-Cuban Bank. Roberto hesitates: on the one hand, the former owners have made him, once a simple accountant, the manager, but on the other hand, he cannot go against the people. He must help the worker Maximo, appointed by the revolutionary government as the bank's commissioner, to understand all the intricacies of the case. Maximo trusts him, consulting him in everything.

Directed by Sergey Kolosov, Cuban Novella leans on a strong ensemble — Lev Sverdlin, Vsevolod Yakut, Vladimir Druzhnikov — to carry a story that balances spectacle with character.

The film landed with audiences for its craft and performances, and remains one of the most talked-about drama titles of 1962.