Strawberry and Chocolate: Difference between revisions

Strawberry and Chocolate
Strawberry and Chocolate
Spanish	Fresa y chocolate
Directed by	Tomás Gutiérrez Alea; Juan Carlos Tabío
Written by	Story and screenplay:; Senel Paz
Produced by	Camilo Vives; Frank Cabrera; Georgina Balzaretti
Starring	Jorge Perugorría; Vladimir Cruz; Mirta Ibarra; Francisco Gattorno
Music by	José María Vitier
Distributed by	Miramax Films (US)
Release date	1993;
Running time	108 minutes
Countries	Cuba; Mexico
Language	Spanish

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Strawberry and Chocolate (Spanish: Fresa y chocolate) is a 1993 internationally co-produced film, directed by Cuban filmmakers Tomás Gutiérrez Alea 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). Senel Paz had written the short story in 1990, and also wrote the screenplay for the film. It was the first Cuban film to be nominated for an Academy Award.^[1]

Plot

The story takes place in Havana, Cuba, 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 artist unhappy with the Castro regime's attitude toward the LGBT community as well as the censored conceptualization of culture. David's homophobic classmate, Miguel (Francisco Gattorno), plans to use David to spy on Diego, a person whom they see as aberrant and dangerous to the Communist cause. Diego, for his part, initiates the friendship with sexual intentions, but David mostly rejects his advances.

Although David initially chafes at the idea of being Diego's "baby", he decides to do so 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 erupts, 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 Marxist icons in Diego's room, and letting him read his manuscript.

In a side plot, Diego and German, his artist protégé 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 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 that it was not denying rumors of being 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 – Diego
Vladimir Cruz – David
Mirta Ibarra – Nancy
Francisco Gattorno – Miguel
Joel Angelino – German
Marilyn Solaya – Vivian
Andrés Cortina – Santeria priest
Antonio Carmona – Boyfriend

Reception

Chicago Sun-Times film critic Roger Ebert 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, since to be homosexual in Cuba is to make an anti-authoritarian statement whether you intend it or not."^[2]

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) he chooses strawberry ice cream even though chocolate (vastly more popular) is available.

Awards and nominations

Won

1995

Goya Award for Best Spanish-Language Foreign Film (Mejor Película Extranjera de Habla Hispana)
Premio ACE awards: Cinema—Best Film, Cinema—Best Director, Cinema—Best Actor (Perugorría), and Cinema—Best Supporting Actor (Cruz)
Sundance Film Festival: Special Jury Prize:Special Mention

1994

44th Berlin International Film Festival: Silver Berlin Bear—Special Jury Prize,^[3] Teddy—Best Feature Film
Gramado Film Festival (Brazil): 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:^[4] Grand Coral—First Prize, Audience Award, FIPRESCI Prize, OCIC 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 for Best Foreign Language Film, 1994^[5]
Golden Berlin Bear, 1994 Berlin International Film Festival

References

^ Schroeder, Paul A.; Schroeder Rodríguez, Paul A. (2002). Tomás Gutiérrez Alea: the dialectics of a filmmaker. Latin American studies. New York: Routledge. p. 6. ISBN 978-0-415-93664-4.
^ ROGER EBERT. "Strawberry And Chocolate". Archived from the original on 2012-10-13.
^ "Berlinale: 1994 Prize Winners". berlinale.de. Archived from the original on 2011-07-26. Retrieved 2011-06-12.
^ "Festival Internacional del Nuevo Cine Latinoamericano" (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 2014-03-31. Retrieved 2006-10-17.
^ "The 67th Academy Awards (1995) Nominees and Winners". oscars.org. 5 October 2014. Retrieved 26 September 2015.

External links

[1] Schroeder, Paul A.; Schroeder Rodríguez, Paul A. (2002). Tomás Gutiérrez Alea: the dialectics of a filmmaker. Latin American studies. New York: Routledge. p. 6. ISBN 978-0-415-93664-4.

[Ebert-2] ROGER EBERT. "Strawberry And Chocolate". Archived from the original on 2012-10-13.

[Berlinale-3] "Berlinale: 1994 Prize Winners". berlinale.de. Archived from the original on 2011-07-26. Retrieved 2011-06-12.

[4] "Festival Internacional del Nuevo Cine Latinoamericano" (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 2014-03-31. Retrieved 2006-10-17.

[Oscars1995-5] "The 67th Academy Awards (1995) Nominees and Winners". oscars.org. 5 October 2014. Retrieved 26 September 2015.

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@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
-{{Cleanup bare URLs|date=September 2022}}
 {{Infobox film
-| name           = Strawberry and Chocolate<br />Fresa y chocolate
+| name           = Strawberry and Chocolate
+| native_name    = {{Infobox name module|es|Fresa y chocolate|nolink=1}}
 | image          = Fresa y Chocolate (US cover).jpg
 | caption        =
 | director       = [[Tomás Gutiérrez Alea]]<br />[[Juan Carlos Tabío]]
 | producer       = Camilo Vives<br />Frank Cabrera<br />Georgina Balzaretti
-| writer         = '''Story:'''<br />Senel Paz<br />'''Screenplay:'''<br />Senel Paz
+| writer         = '''Story and screenplay:'''<br />Senel Paz
 | starring       = [[Jorge Perugorría]]<br />[[Vladimir Cruz]]<br />[[Mirta Ibarra]]<br />[[Francisco Gattorno]]
-| distributor    = [[Miramax Films]] (USA)
+| music          = [[José María Vitier]]
+| distributor    = [[Miramax Films]] (US)
-| released       = {{film date|1994}}
+| released       = {{film date|1993}}
 | runtime        = 108 minutes
 | country        = Cuba<br />Mexico
@@ Line 15: / Line 16: @@
 | budget         =
 }}
-'''''Strawberry and Chocolate''''' ({{lang-es|'''Fresa y chocolate'''}}) is a 1993 internationally co-produced film, directed by [[Tomás Gutiérrez Alea]] 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]] for the film.
+'''''Strawberry and Chocolate''''' ({{langx|es|'''Fresa y chocolate'''}}) is a 1993 internationally co-produced film, directed by Cuban filmmakers [[Tomás Gutiérrez Alea]] and [[Juan Carlos Tabío]], based on the short story "The wolf, the forest and the new man" (in Spanish, {{lang|es|El lobo, el bosque y el hombre nuevo}}).  [[Senel Paz]] had written the short story in 1990, and also wrote the [[screenplay]] for the film.  It was the first Cuban film to be nominated for an [[Academy Awards|Academy Award]].<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Schroeder |first1=Paul A. |title=Tomás Gutiérrez Alea: the dialectics of a filmmaker |last2=Schroeder Rodríguez |first2=Paul A. |date=2002 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-0-415-93664-4 |series=Latin American studies |location=New York |pages=6}}</ref>
 == Plot ==
-The story takes place in [[Havana, Cuba]] 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]] artist unhappy with the [[Fidel Castro|Castro]] regime's attitude toward the [[LGBT]] community as well as the censored conceptualization of culture. David's homophobic classmate, Miguel (Francisco Gattorno), plans to use David to [[espionage|spy]] on Diego, a person whom they see as aberrant and dangerous to the [[Communist]] cause; Diego, for his part, initiates the friendship with sexual intentions, but David for the most part rejects his advances.
+The story takes place in [[Havana]], Cuba, 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 artist unhappy with the Castro regime's attitude toward the [[LGBT]] community as well as the censored conceptualization of culture. David's [[Homophobia|homophobic]] classmate, Miguel (Francisco Gattorno), plans to use David to spy on Diego, a person whom they see as aberrant and dangerous to the Communist cause. Diego, for his part, initiates the friendship with sexual intentions, but David mostly 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.
+Although David initially chafes at the idea of being Diego's "baby", he decides to do so 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 erupts, 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 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.
+In a side plot, Diego and German, his artist protégé 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 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.
+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 that it was not denying rumors of being 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]] ...  Diego
+*[[Jorge Perugorría]] –  Diego
-*[[Vladimir Cruz]] ...  David
+*[[Vladimir Cruz]] –  David
-*[[Mirta Ibarra]] ...  Nancy
+*[[Mirta Ibarra]] –  Nancy
-*[[Francisco Gattorno]] ...  Miguel
+*[[Francisco Gattorno]] –  Miguel
-*[[Joel Angelino]] ...  German
+*[[Joel Angelino]] –  German
-*[[Marilyn Solaya]] ...  Vivian
+*[[Marilyn Solaya]] –  Vivian
-*Andrés Cortina ...  Santeria priest
+*Andrés Cortina –  Santeria priest
-*Antonio Carmona ...  Boyfriend
+*Antonio Carmona –  Boyfriend
 == Reception ==
-''[[Chicago Sun-Times]]'' film critic [[Roger Ebert]] 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 &mdash; unless you count [[Sexual Politics]], since to be homosexual in Cuba is to make an [[anti-authoritarian]] statement whether you intend it or not."<ref name="Ebert">[http://rogerebert.suntimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/19950210/REVIEWS/502100303/1023 Ebert, Roger. "''Strawberry and Chocolate''" (review)], ''Chicago Sun-Times'', February 10, 1995. Retrieved October 14, 2006.</ref>
+''[[Chicago Sun-Times]]'' film critic [[Roger Ebert]] 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&mdash;unless you count [[Sexual Politics]], since to be homosexual in Cuba is to make an [[anti-authoritarian]] statement whether you intend it or not."<ref name="Ebert">{{cite web|url=http://rogerebert.suntimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/19950210/REVIEWS/502100303/1023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121013010852/rogerebert.suntimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/19950210/REVIEWS/502100303/1023|archive-date=2012-10-13|title=Strawberry And Chocolate
+|author=ROGER EBERT}}</ref>
 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)]] he chooses [[strawberry]] [[ice cream]] even though [[chocolate]] (vastly more popular) is available.
@@ Line 53: / Line 55: @@
 ;1993
-* Havana Film Festival:<ref>http://www.habanafilmfestival.com/</ref> Grand Coral&mdash;First Prize, Audience Award, [[FIPRESCI]] Prize, [[OCIC]] Award, [[ARCI-NOVA]] Award, and the categories of Best Direction, Best Actor (Perugorría), Best Actress (Luisina Brando), Best Supporting Actress (Ibarra), and Best Screenplay.
+* Havana Film Festival:<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.habanafilmfestival.com/ |title=Festival Internacional del Nuevo Cine Latinoamericano | language=es |access-date=2006-10-17 |archive-date=2014-03-31 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140331124128/http://www.habanafilmfestival.com/ |url-status=dead }}</ref> Grand Coral&mdash;First Prize, Audience Award, [[FIPRESCI]] Prize, [[OCIC]] 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]] for [[Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film|Best Foreign Language Film]], 1994<ref name="Oscars1995">{{Cite web|url=http://www.oscars.org/oscars/ceremonies/1995 |title=The 67th Academy Awards (1995) Nominees and Winners |access-date=26 September 2015 |work=oscars.org}}</ref>
+* [[Academy Award]] for [[Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film|Best Foreign Language Film]], 1994<ref name="Oscars1995">{{Cite web|url=http://www.oscars.org/oscars/ceremonies/1995 |title=The 67th Academy Awards (1995) Nominees and Winners |access-date=26 September 2015 |work=oscars.org|date=5 October 2014 }}</ref>
 * Golden Berlin Bear, 1994 Berlin International Film Festival
@@ Line 69: / Line 71: @@
 ==External links==
-*{{IMDb title|0106966}}
+* {{IMDb title|0106966}}
-*[http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/strawberry_and_chocolate/ Rotten Tomatoes' links to reviews of the film]
+* [http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/strawberry_and_chocolate/ Rotten Tomatoes' links to reviews of the film]
 {{Tomás Gutiérrez Alea}}
@@ Line 79: / Line 81: @@
 {{Cuban submission for Academy Awards}}
+[[Category:1993 films]]
-{{DEFAULTSORT:Strawberry And Chocolate (Film)}}
-[[Category:1994 films]]
+[[Category:1993 comedy-drama films]]
-[[Category:1994 comedy-drama films]]
+[[Category:1993 LGBTQ-related films]]
 [[Category:1990s Spanish-language films]]
 [[Category:Films set in the 1970s]]
 [[Category:Films set in Cuba]]
 [[Category:Films shot in Cuba]]
-[[Category:Mexican LGBT-related films]]
+[[Category:Mexican LGBTQ-related films]]
-[[Category:Cuban LGBT-related films]]
+[[Category:Cuban LGBTQ-related films]]
 [[Category:Films directed by Tomás Gutiérrez Alea]]
 [[Category:Films directed by Juan Carlos Tabío]]
@@ Line 93: / Line 95: @@
 [[Category:Silver Bear Grand Jury Prize winners]]
 [[Category:1990s Mexican films]]
-[[Category:Sundance Film Festival award-winning films]]
+[[Category:Sundance Film Festival award–winning films]]
+[[Category:LGBTQ-related comedy-drama films]]
+[[Category:Spanish-language comedy-drama films]]
+[[Category:Films scored by José María Vitier]]

v t e Gramado Film Festival Best Picture Award
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