Strawberry and Chocolate ( Fresa y chocolate ) ( Strawberry & Chocolate )

Strawberry and Chocolate (DVD) (*)

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Original Title: Fresa y chocolate
Alternate Title: Strawberry & Chocolate
Screened, competed or awarded at:
Berlin International Film Festival
Goya Awards
Oscar Academy Awards
Sundance Film Festival
Other Film Festival Awards

Language Selections:
English ( Subtitles )
Spanish ( Dolby Digital 2.0 )

Product Origin/Format:
United Kingdom ( PAL/Region 0 )

Running Time:
104 min

Aspect Ratio:
Widescreen (1.78:1)

Special Features:
Interactive Menu
Scene Access

Movie filmed in 1994 and produced in:
Cuba ( Latin America, Mexico )
Mexico ( Latin America, Mexico )
Spain ( Spain, Portugal )
United States ( USA, Canada )

Directed By:
Tomás Gutiérrez Alea
Juan Carlos Tabío

Written By:
Senel Paz

Actors:
Jorge Perugorría ..... Diego
Vladimir Cruz ..... David
Mirta Ibarra ..... Nancy
Francisco Gattorno ..... Miguel
Joel Angelino ..... German
Marilyn Solaya ..... Vivian
Andrés Cortina ..... Santeria priest
Antonio Carmona ..... Boyfriend
Ricardo Ávila ..... Taxi driver
María Elena del Toro ..... Passenger
Zolanda Oña ..... Passenger
Diana Iris del Puerto ..... Neighbor

Synopsis:

Diego, a cultivated, apolitical, sceptical young artist living in Havana initiates a friendship with fiercely communist homophobe David with the intention of seducing him. David, knowing this, allows the relationship to build so he can spy on a person he sees as aberrant and dangerous to the communist cause. Despite their conflicting sexualities and political ideologies the two slowly build a relationship out of their differences, proving that camaraderie and friendship can overcome the most divisive superficialities. An exploration into the seduction of the mind, Strawberry And Chocolate shows how politics can shape lives, opinions and relationships. Hugely controversial in Cuba even now, the film was the first to feature a gay man as the hero while openly criticising the Government and its widespread intolerance. It was this picture that started the dialogue that has only last year allowed Brokeback Mountain to be shown in Havana. Charming, nuanced, groundbreaking and thought provoking, Strawberry And Chocolate is a clear-cut declaration that even in spite of politics, love for your fellow man will always triumph if allowed to.

A man finds that friendship and understanding can span many boundaries - age, politics, and gender preference among them - in this comedy-drama from Cuba. David (Vladimir Cruz) is a student and ardent Communist whose personal life is in something of a slump; his girlfriend recently left him to marry another man after he took her to a hotel in hopes of seducing her, and she announced that she couldn't believe anyone could make love in such an ugly room. One day, David stops by the park and gets some ice cream, where he meets Diego (Jorge Perrugoria); as if his flamboyant manner wasn't announcement enough, David is convinced that Diego must be a homosexual because he's eating strawberry ice cream, even though it's one of the rare days when chocolate is available. David is less than impressed with Diego's open criticism of Castro's regime (especially the government's persecution of gays), but he accepts an invitation to visit Diego's apartment; while David realizes that Diego has seduction on his mind, this is outweighed by the knowledge that Diego's flat houses such forbidden pleasures as Time Magazine, American record albums, and Johnny Walker Red scotch. David's friend Miguel (Francisco Gatorno) is convinced that Diego is a dangerous dissident and urges David to spy on him and pass along his findings to the government. But the more time David spends with Diego, the more he finds that he's intrigued by this very different man, and that he enjoys spending time with him; David also finds he likes Nancy (Mirta Ibarra), Diego's sexy neighbor. Helmed by legendary Cuban director Tomas Gutierrez Alea and based on a story by Senel Paz, Fresa y Chocolate was the first Cuban film to be nominated for an Oscar (Best Foreign Language Film of 1995); it also won honors at the Berlin International Film Festival and the Sundance Film Festival.

A macho but naive and inexperienced youth who believes passionately in Communism and the Cuban Revolution, finds his values undergoing an unexpected transformation after being befriended by a cultured young homosexual who's an ardent critic of the Castro regime.

This product was added to our catalog on Thursday 16 April, 2009.

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