Fresa y Chocolate (Strawberry and Chocolate, 1993)

Fresa y Chocolate (Strawberry and Chocolate, 1993), directed by Tomas Gutierrez Alea and Juan Carlos Tabio, is a Cuban film which takes place in Havana shortly after the revolution. The main character, David, is a young college student who is a proud Communist. One day, he meets a friendly and interesting man named Diego. He is a vibrant, homosexual artist who disagrees with the governments efforts to censor works of art (which is an essential part of who he is) as well as control the minds of the country's people.

Diego is attracted to David and lures him back to his apartment, using works of art to capture his interest. Diego is not only attracted to him physically, though. By spending time with David, Diego intends to open the mind of this nationalistic student and show him that not everything the government attempts to control or censor are horrible and awful things. Diego tries to show David the beauty in these works of art and the freedom of his lifestyle.

At first, David is skeptical and suspicious of Diego's interests and way of living. He disagrees with and disapproves of Diego's ideas. David only visits him in the beginning to spy on him, viewing him as an enemy of the country. However, the more time David spends with Diego, the more he learns and becomes open to his ways. In the end, David accepts Diego as a good friend and has a more open-minded mentality.

Fresa y Chocolate is an interesting film about people and their ideals. The movie teaches important lessons about conformity and peoples rights and freedoms. I enjoyed the story, because it provided an intriguing dynamic between David and Diego - two characters who seemed to have opposite ideas. I also appreciated the character development of David, which turned out to be very satisfying. He started out as a conservative and prejudiced person of Communism, but grew to become more respectful and open about other views and beliefs.

The movie not only taught important lessons, but provided comedy as well. Although it sent a message which should be appreciated by all people, it also had its light-hearted moments. Fresa y Chocolate was a well-done movie with a good story, which was easy to follow. The actors all played their parts well and were very convincing of their roles. All in all, I enjoyed the movie and I think it is a good idea for everyone to go see it to expand their minds and open their hearts if nothing else.