Lost Son Of Havana

2009
Directed By Jonathan Hock


SYNOPSIS

Former baseball pitching great Luis Tiant returns to his native Cuba for the first time since the rise of Castro. He finds much has changed in 46 years and reconnects with family members and friends he left behind in order to fulfill his (and his father's) dream.

MY THOUGHTS

Lost Son Of Havana tells a tale that would be way too hard to believe if it was a fictional film.
The ups and downs and struggles of Luis Tiant's life on and off the field seem almost too outrageous to be real, but they were and this film is able to pull all the elements of his life together and create a meaningful film.

Luis Tiant is an unusual person to spotlight in a documentary.  We don't get much insight to him, because he is more reserved than you'd expect the subject of a film to be. But when he does show emotion, it's powerful.... especially when he sees family members again for the first time in decades. Lost Son delves very little into his personal life (outside the trip) and what he's been up to since his playing days.

It does offers a great overview of Tiant's career in the majors from making it as an Cleveland Indian and suffering a career-ending injury, only to rebound and (as a member of the Boston Red Sox) have a starring role in the 1975 World Series. He again finds himself twice more in the minors and makes it back to the majors by sheer determination and reinvention. Two of his teammates, Carl Yastrzemski and Carlton Fisk, offer insight into his success.
We're also treated to Tiant's father's career as a pitcher in the Negro Leagues. Despite his overwhelming success, he wasn't able to parlay that a Major League career, even though he was playing at the time Jackie Robinson broke the color barrier.

Lost Son shows the squalor that is everyday life in Havana, without ever getting preachy. The images are enough. Apart from a brief refresher course in how Castro came to power, politics isn't overtly mentioned. Former Senator George McGovern is interviewed and he was instrumental in getting Castro to release Tiant's parents and let them come to America and finally see their son pitch (and spend their final years.)

I was too young to experience Tiant's career and did not know much of his story (and none of his father's) and the film certainly filled all the gaps in my knowledge about him... as well as providing a heart-warming and uniquely true story.