This is surely the worst film I've seen in the last decade or two. It is difficult to imagine that there is a book on which it was based because there are no characters, no plot and no purpose whatsoever. It is a master class on how NOT to write a script and on how NOT to direct a movie. Arne Glimcher had given us in 1992 "The Mambo Kings", with the same Antonio Banderas. This was a very pleasant film and we could expect for a similar result here. But due to the chaotic situation shown it is difficult to say what went wrong here. Of course, the main fault is with the script that amasses a bunch of loose characters and incidents that never relate to each other in any meaningful way. People come and go out of the film without stating what they are doing or what they were called for. If any praise should be bestowed upon anyone at all, that should go to the actors and actresses involved for the bravura and conviction with which they deliver their lines even if these lines don't mean a thing at all. A consummate disaster that should be avoided at all costs.