''Strawberry and Chocolate'' ( es, Fresa y chocolate) is a 1993 internationally co-produced film, directed by

Tomás Gutiérrez Alea Tomás Gutiérrez Alea (; December 11, 1928 – April 16, 1996) was a Cuban film director and screenwriter. He wrote and directed more than twenty features, documentaries, and short films, which are known for his sharp insight into post-Revolu ...

and Juan Carlos Tabío, based on the short story "The Wolf, The Forest and the New Man" (in Spanish, ''El Lobo, el bosque y el hombre nuevo'') written by Senel Paz in 1990, who also wrote the

screenplay ''ScreenPlay'' is a television drama anthology series broadcast on BBC2 between 9 July 1986 and 27 October 1993. Background After single-play anthology series went off the air, the BBC introduced several showcases for made-for-television, fe ...

for the film.

Plot

The story takes place in

Havana, Cuba Havana (; Spanish: ''La Habana'' ) is the capital and largest city of Cuba. The heart of the La Habana Province, Havana is the country's main port and commercial center.

in 1979. David (Vladimir Cruz), is rejected by Vivian, who marries an older and wealthier man. It is revealed that he is a university student when he meets Diego (Jorge Perugorría), a

gay ''Gay'' is a term that primarily refers to a homosexual person or the trait of being homosexual. The term originally meant 'carefree', 'cheerful', or 'bright and showy'. While scant usage referring to male homosexuality dates to the late 1 ...

artist unhappy with the

Castro Castro is a Romance language word that originally derived from Latin ''castrum'', a pre-Roman military camp or fortification (cf: Greek: ''kastron''; Proto-Celtic:''*Kassrik;'' br, kaer, *kastro). The English-language equivalent is '' chester''. ...

regime's attitude toward the

LGBT ' is an initialism that stands for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender. In use since the 1990s, the initialism, as well as some of its common variants, functions as an umbrella term for sexuality and gender identity. The LGBT term is a ...

community as well as the censored conceptualization of culture. David's homophobic classmate, Miguel (Francisco Gattorno), plans to use David to

spy Espionage, spying, or intelligence gathering is the act of obtaining secret or confidential information (intelligence) from non-disclosed sources or divulging of the same without the permission of the holder of the information for a tangib ...

on Diego, a person whom they see as aberrant and dangerous to the

Communist Communism (from Latin la, communis, lit=common, universal, label=none) is a far-left sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology and current within the socialist movement whose goal is the establishment of a communist society, a s ...

cause; Diego, for his part, initiates the friendship with sexual intentions, but David for the most part rejects his advances. Although David initially chafes at the idea of being Diego's "baby", he decides to do so in order to relay information back to Miguel. The two form a tenuous friendship in the process of this spying, and David makes it clear that their relationship will be platonic. Nancy, a "vigilance" who lives above Diego, attempts suicide as David arrives one day, and he ends up donating blood so that she can recover. As David spends more and more time with Diego, he argues with him about Communism, sexuality, and what is truly revolutionary. After constantly reporting their activities to Miguel, David eventually ends up erupting, telling Miguel that Diego has principles despite his sexuality. Vivian tries to reconnect with David and begin an affair, but he finally rejects her advances. David begins to show more signs of affection for Diego, buying him flowers and posting up Marxist icons in Diego's room, and letting him read his manuscript. In a side plot, Diego and German, his artist protege and sexual partner, are unable to exhibit their full collection of work. In this process, the two have a falling out and Diego sends an angry letter to the museum curators of Cuba. This leads to his firing, and an inability to find work outside of manual labor due to his blacklisting by the government. Diego tells this to Nancy, who has developed a romantic interest in David. In a gesture of friendship to both parties, he decides to set Nancy and David up, and David loses his virginity to Nancy. In the days after, Miguel comes to Diego's apartment, accusing David of being a homosexual. Diego eventually decides to leave the country, but is unable to keep it a secret from David. He confesses his love for David, and reveals it was the fact that Diego didn't deny rumors that he was in a relationship with David that led to David's false "outing" as a gay man. Despite this, David embraces Diego with a hug, leaving their future relationship ambiguous.

Cast

Jorge Perugorría Jorge Perugorría Rodríguez (aka "Pichi," born 13 August 1965) is a Cuban actor, film director and painter. He is well known for his part as Diego in ''Strawberry and Chocolate'' (original title in Spanish ''Fresa y chocolate'' (co-directed by ...

... Diego * Vladimir Cruz ... David * Mirta Ibarra ... Nancy *

Francisco Gattorno Francisco Alejandro Gattorno Sánchez (; born October 12, 1964), better known in the show business world plainly as Francisco Gattorno, is a Cuban-Mexican actor. Biography Francisco grew up in Santa Clara. He is a son of a Canarian father, an ...

... Miguel * Joel Angelino ... German * Marilyn Solaya ... Vivian *Andrés Cortina ... Santeria priest *Antonio Carmona ... Boyfriend

Reception

Chicago Sun-Times The ''Chicago Sun-Times'' is a daily newspaper published in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Since 2022, it is the flagship paper of Chicago Public Media, and has the second largest circulation among Chicago newspapers, after the ''Chicago T ...

'' film critic

Roger Ebert Roger Joseph Ebert (; June 18, 1942 – April 4, 2013) was an American film critic, film historian, journalist, screenwriter, and author. He was a film critic for the ''Chicago Sun-Times'' from 1967 until his death in 2013. In 1975, Ebert beca ...

comments that "nothing unfolds as we expect. ''Strawberry and Chocolate'' is not a movie about the seduction of a body, but about the seduction of a mind. It is more interested in politics than sex — unless you count

Sexual Politics ''Sexual Politics'' is the debut book by American writer and activist Kate Millett, based on her PhD dissertation. It was published in 1970 by Doubleday. It is regarded as a classic of feminism and one of radical feminism's key texts. ''Sexu ...

, since to be homosexual in Cuba is to make an

anti-authoritarian Anti-authoritarianism is opposition to authoritarianism, which is defined as "a form of social organisation characterised by submission to authority", "favoring complete obedience or subjection to authority as opposed to individual freedom" an ...

statement whether you intend it or not."Ebert, Roger. "''Strawberry and Chocolate''" (review)
''Chicago Sun-Times'', February 10, 1995. Retrieved October 14, 2006. The title refers to a comment made by Diego that immediately proves to David that Diego is gay when at Havana's

Coppelia (ice cream parlor) Coppelia is an ice cream parlor chain in Cuba, originally built in a project led by Fidel Castro. Coppelia is state-run and sells in Cuban pesos (CUP). Havana's Coppelia employs more than 400 workers and serves of ice cream to 35,000 customers e ...

he chooses

strawberry The garden strawberry (or simply strawberry; ''Fragaria × ananassa'') is a widely grown hybrid species of the genus '' Fragaria'', collectively known as the strawberries, which are cultivated worldwide for their fruit. The fruit is widely ap ...

ice cream Ice cream is a sweetened frozen food typically eaten as a snack or dessert. It may be made from milk or cream and is flavoured with a sweetener, either sugar or an alternative, and a spice, such as cocoa or vanilla, or with fruit such as str ...

even though

chocolate Chocolate is a food made from roasted and ground cacao seed kernels that is available as a liquid, solid, or paste, either on its own or as a flavoring agent in other foods. Cacao has been consumed in some form since at least the Olmec civ ...

(vastly more popular) is available.

Awards and nominations

Won

;1995 *

Goya Award The Goya Awards ( es, Premios Goya) are Spain's main national annual film awards, commonly referred to as the Academy Awards of Spain. The awards were established in 1987, a year after the founding of the Academy of Cinematographic Arts and Sci ...

for Best Spanish-Language Foreign Film (''Mejor Película Extranjera de Habla Hispana'') *

Premio ACE The Association of Latin Entertainment Critics (Asociación de Cronistas de Espectáculos de Nueva York, in Spanish) is a nonprofit cultural organization founded on December 12, 1967. The organization has bestowed the Latin ACE Awards (Premios ACE ...

awards: Cinema—Best Film, Cinema—Best Director, Cinema—Best Actor (Perugorría), and Cinema—Best Supporting Actor (Cruz) *

Sundance Film Festival The Sundance Film Festival (formerly Utah/US Film Festival, then US Film and Video Festival) is an annual film festival organized by the Sundance Institute. It is the largest independent film festival in the United States, with more than 46,66 ...

: Special Jury Prize:Special Mention ;1994 * 44th Berlin International Film Festival: Silver Berlin Bear—Special Jury Prize, Teddy—Best Feature Film *

Gramado Film Festival The Gramado Film Festival ( pt, Festival de Gramado) is an international film festival held annually in the Brazilian city of Gramado, Rio Grande do Sul, since 1973. In 1992, the festival began to award Latin American films produced outside of Br ...

(

Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

): Audience Award, Kikito Critics Prize, and Golden Kikito awards in the categories of Best Latin Film, Best Actor (tie between Cruz and Perugorría), and Best Supporting Actress (Ibarra) ;1993 * Havana Film Festival:http://www.habanafilmfestival.com/ Grand Coral—First Prize, Audience Award,

FIPRESCI The International Federation of Film Critics (FIPRESCI, short for Fédération Internationale de la PRESse CInématographique) is an association of national organizations of professional film critics and film journalists from around the world fo ...

Prize,

OCIC SIGNIS (official name: World Catholic Association for Communication) is a Roman Catholic lay ecclesial movement for professionals in the communication media, including press, radio, television, cinema, video, media education, internet, and ne ...

Award, ARCI-NOVA Award, and the categories of Best Direction, Best Actor (Perugorría), Best Actress (Luisina Brando), Best Supporting Actress (Ibarra), and Best Screenplay.

Nominated

Academy Award The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international film industry. The awards are regarded by many as the most prestigious, significant awards in the entertainment ind ...

for

Best Foreign Language Film This is a list of categories of awards commonly awarded through organizations that bestow film awards, including those presented by various film, festivals, and people's awards. Best Actor/Best Actress *See Best Actor#Film awards, Best Actress#F ...

, 1994 * Golden Berlin Bear, 1994 Berlin International Film Festival

References

External links

*
Rotten Tomatoes' links to reviews of the film
{{DEFAULTSORT:Strawberry And Chocolate (Film) 1994 films 1994 comedy-drama films 1990s Spanish-language films Films set in the 1970s Films set in Cuba Films shot in Cuba Mexican LGBT-related films Cuban LGBT-related films Films directed by Tomás Gutiérrez Alea Films directed by Juan Carlos Tabío Best Foreign Film in the Spanish Language Goya Award Winners Silver Bear Grand Jury Prize winners 1990s Mexican films