Feature film
Strawberry and Chocolate
Fresa y chocolate
Synopsis
Havana, 1979. David, a communist student whom Vivian has just left to marry an older, wealthier man, meets Diego, a cultured, homosexual artist who makes no secret of what he thinks of censorship and of the treatment of people like him. Miguel, David's comrade, sees Diego as a danger and pushes David to befriend him in order to spy on him. The visits to Diego's home follow one another, where one meets his neighbour Nancy, and the friendship that develops tests David's certainties.
Context
The film starts from a story by Senel Paz, El lobo, el bosque y el hombre nuevo, published in 1990, which the writer adapted himself. Co-directed by Tomás Gutiérrez Alea and Juan Carlos Tabío, co-produced with Mexico, it brings together Jorge Perugorría as Diego, Vladimir Cruz as David, Mirta Ibarra as Nancy and Francisco Gattorno as Miguel. The story refers to a policy that had sent homosexuals to the camps of the Military Units to Aid Production. Shown in most of the island's cinemas, it became a mass phenomenon there, described as propaganda by some and as opportunistic by others.
Who it is for
One hundred and eight minutes, in Spanish. It helps to know that homosexuality was long one of the most controversial issues in Cuba.
Prizes and reception
Silver Bear, special jury prize, at Berlin in 1994; first Cuban film nominated for the Oscar for best foreign-language film; Goya in 1995.
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