GAY PEOPLE'S Chronicle

MARCH 10, 1995

Evenings Out

One view of life as a gay man in Castro's Cuba

David (Vladimir Cruz) listens to Maria Callas records in Diego's apartment.

Strawberry and Chocolate Cuba/Mexico/Spain, 1993

Strawberry and Chocolate, a new comedy by filmmaker Tomás Gutiérrez Alea and his collaborator, Juan Carlos Tabio, is an incisive, delightful gem, radiating vitality and energy. Full of Latin high spirits and comic invention, it features delectable performances by remarkably talented actors, who both love and acknowledge the strengths and failures of their on-screen characters.

Strawberry and Chocolate bubbles with ideas and situations. David is a handsome, upright, uptight, sociology student, traveling a straight and narrow path toward a predictable future. One day, quite by chance, he links up with a complete stranger while on his way for an ice cream. Warm, funny Diego has the gleam of a man who enjoys life, knows what he wants, and has an opinion about everything. He reads prodigiously, listens to Maria Callas records, revels in all the arts and asks all the the right questions. To top it off, the two are also sexual opposites: David is straight, Diego is gay, and Diego has his heart set on David. They are like oil and water... or strawberry and chocolate.

Throw into this mix Diego's brash, ballsy, beautiful neighbor Nancy, who wouldn't mind finding a man of her own, and Miguel, a fellow student of David's who has no time for people like Diego. Directors Alea and Tabio turn up the heat when David finds himself intrigued and fascinated by, but also highly suspicious of, his new friend.

Set against the backdrop of Havana, and a Cuban society that has always looked ask ance at homosexuality, Strawberry and Chocolate touches many bases as it cuts through prejudice and phobias to make a passionate plea for tolerance and understanding.

Co-director Tomas Gutierrez Alea was born in Havana in 1928. He studied directing in Rome, Italy and completed his first feature, The Twelve Chairs in 1962. Co-director Juan Carlos Tabio was born in 1943 and worked making documentaries from 1963 to 1980. In 1981 he turned to directing and writing scripts.

From the 1994 Toronto Film Festival program guide Strawberry and Chocolate will begin its run at the Cedar-Lee Theatre in Cleveland on March 10.