Shoot Down

Reviewed by Marshall McClean
(from Cinequest 2007)
 
Director: Cristina Khuly
Starring: Documentary
 
Water Cooler Buzz:
The distance between the U.S. and Cuba is more than 90 miles.  So goes the tag line for Shoot Down, winner of the 2007 Sonoma Valley Film Festival Jury Award Best Documentary.  The complexities of U.S.-Cuban relations are examined through the tragedy suffered by Brothers to the Rescue, a civilian-based activist organization that supplies aid to Cubans attempting to cross the Florida Straits.  Considering that the director is not only a first-time feature helmer but also the niece of a Brothers pilot, the project is ambitious. The ambition, however, is surpassed by the execution of this film, which presents a powerful, moving and beautifully made piece of cinematic art.
 
Description: 
In 1996, four members of Brothers to the Rescue were killed when two Cuban military aircraft destroyed two Cessna planes on a routine relief effort over international waters.  Emotions on both sides of the twenty-fourth parallel flared, as fingers were pointed and actions were "justified." 
 
Khuly charts the origin of Brothers to the Rescue, from its inception in 1991 to the tragic events in 1996 and beyond.  Born of desire to assist those crossing the treacherous waters between Cuba and Florida, a small band of Cuban exiles flew missions, dropping water and food. It was their aim to support, through active nonviolence, Cubans wishing to live freely. As U.S. policies toward Cuban refugees changed, so too did the tactics. Missions crept closer and closer to Cuban airspace despite warnings from U.S. and Cuban officials.  Missions eventually included dropping anti-Castro propaganda above Havana. 
 

The re-enactments of the tragedy are intense and creatively done.  The airplane satellite charts we're so used to seeing beeping onscreen are cleverly animated to adopt actual airplane characteristics (e.g., whooshes and zooms) at the point of action.
 
The camerawork is polished and accompanied by a poignant score.  The combination is so well executed, it would distract from a weaker story (this is high-stakes political drama, with Cuban spies and an alleged cover-up with far-reaching implications).  Did the U.S. government allow the tragedy to take place so it could further a decades-old anti-Castro agenda?  Some say this event of 1996 reversed the progress of U.S.-Cuban relations, which adds merit to the claim.  As illustrated in Shoot Down, the distance between the U.S. and Cuba is more than 90 miles.