For Love or Country

DVD Features:

Audio:

• Surround - English

Additional Release Material:

• Behind-the-Scenes Footage - 1. With Arturo Sandoval

Product Description:

Andy Garcia stars as world-renowned Cuban trumpet player Arturo Sandoval in this moving portrait of his life in Cuba, his passion for jazz, and his eventual defection from his homeland in 1990. A passionate free thinker, Arturo struggled for personal and creative freedom in Cuban, experiencing a lifetime of artistic persecution. Despite strict revolutionary guidelines, Arturo played with the award-winning Cuban fusion band Irakere, receiving critical and commercial success while living under the shadow of Fidel Castro's dictatorship. In 1981, Sandoval left Irakere and formed his own band, desperate to play jazz by his own rules. A musical virtuoso, Sandoval lived to play his own brash brand of jazz, inspired by his mentor and longtime friend, American jazz legend Dizzy Gillespie (Charles S.Dutton). Ultimately, Arturo's love for his wife, Mariela (Mia Maestro), and his growing family forced him to stay in Cuba, constantly compromising his artistic freedom for the revolution. Finally, in 1990, after years of artistic frustration, Gillespie helped Arturo to defect with his wife and young son. The Sandovals' remarkable journey to freedom is conveyed through a series of flashbacks, as Arturo reflects on his passion for his country, his wife, and his ultimate desire for musical freedom. Andy Garcia gives an uplifting and moving performance as the jazz legend, swinging and bopping onstage to his own uncompromising rhythm. The film also features a fabulous supporting cast, including Latin superstar Gloria Estefan, and a rousing score from the legend himself, Arturo Sandoval.

Plot Keywords:

Biography | Cable Original | Documentary | Latin Music | Music

Exerpts:

"What good are eyes if everyone's blind!" -- Arturo (Andy Garcia) to Mariela (Mia Maestro)

"I've been in jail all my life." -- Arturo to embassy interviewer (David Paymer)

"That's the second greatest trumpet player in the world." -- Dizzy Gillespie (Charles Dutton) to embassy guard, referring to Arturo

Production Notes:

• Cable premiere: November 18, 2000 (HBO).
• Shot on location in Miami and Puerto Rico.
• Arturo Sandoval performed with costar Gloria Estefan on numerous albums, including INTO THE LIGHT and MI TIERRA.
• FOR LOVE OR COUNTRY was nominated for a Golden Globe for Best Miniseries or Motion Picture Made for Television.
• Andy Garcia was nominated for a Golden Globe for Best Performance by an Actor in a Miniseries or Motion Picture Made for Television for his role in the film.

Cast and Crew: