The Mambo Kings

A spirited evocation of the mambo craze which swept post-war America, adapted from Oscar Hijuelos' Pulitzer Prize-winning novel. Cuban musicians César and Nestor Castillo (Assante and Banderas) arrive in New York to find love, greed and, ultimately, fame. César thrives on the success of their band, and relentlessly pursues sex and the Yankee dollar, while his mournful brother laments his lost love and homeland. First-time director Glimcher establishes a restless pace, from the opening violence through to the energetic, swirling musical sequences, while screenwriter Cynthia Cidre tones down some of the book's flamboyance and machismo, emphasising the eroticism of sudden passion and repressed desire; and there's a sure feel for period in both tone and technique.