Strawberry and Chocolate

Strawberry and Chocolate is a Cuban film that was released in 1994 by the late Tomás Gutiérrez Alea. It’s a funny comedy set in Havana and I believe the first Cuban film with a gay character. The Film starts off with a young man named David played by Vladimir Cruz, David is a virgin student who is showed in the beginning with his Girlfriend Vivian (Marilyn Sontana) to a cheap motel to have sex for the first time. But things don't go as plan and he promises to not have sex with her until they are married. Time goes by and we see David at Vivian’s Wedding where she’s is not marrying him, which sucks for him because he promised to safe himself for her and has not the one she’s marrying.

David soon meets Diego played by Jorge Perugorría, who does an amazing job. Diego is a witty and sympathetic gay man who lures the confused David back to his apartment. Telling him he has photos of David. David being a real straight edge guy who at this time in the film would have nothing to do with someone like Diego. David then attempts to spy on Diego and entrap him into political heresy, soon David instead by Diego's free-thinking, free-loving brilliance. Diego is this man who thinks what he likes and reads what he pleases. He also tries to seduces David through out there time together but David makes sure he lets it known that he has no interest in Diego. Diego plans soon fails, and he realizes that David has never even been with women so this is when he asks his Neighbor Nancy to sleep with him. Nancy who is an unstable woman that has tried to kill herself more than once. She is upset that he would even ask her that but she starts to feel little something for David as the film goes on.

David and Nancy end up sleeping together and David falls in love with her right after. We also see how amazing David and Diego's friendship as grown, from David being basically "disgusted" by Diego orientation to them loving each other as friends. It’s at the end of the film we see them hug and even joke little bit about the first time they met at the Ice cream shop. This film was really good I definitely feel this film was challenging the system in Cuba just from the fact with having a gay character and the whole communist situation.