Azúcar Amarga
| Azúcar Amarga | |
|---|---|
Region 1 DVD cover
|
|
| Directed by | Leon Ichaso |
| Written by | Leon Ichaso |
| Starring |
|
|
Release date
|
11 October 1996 |
|
Running time
|
102 minutes |
| Country | United States, Dominican Republic |
| Language | Spanish |
Azúcar Amarga (English: Bitter Sugar) is a 1996 American-Dominican co-production directed by Cuban filmmaker Leon Ichaso. The film was shot in black-and-white, and was filmed in Santo Domingo starring a cast of Cuban-American émigrés, though it also uses archival footage from Cuba.
Gustavo, a patriotic Cuban communist, catches the eye of an attractive girl, Yolanda, at a rock concert where his brother Bobby is performing. Before he can approach her, the concert is broken up by police. Later Gustavo sees Yolanda in public, and befriends her. Gustavo tells his father Tomás, a psychiatrist widower, about his affections for Yolanda.
Yolanda and Gustavo disagree over Gustavo's communist views; they agree not to talk about politics. Gustavo is granted a scholarship to study at the University in Prague. Bobby complains to Gustavo that the police will not return his band’s equipment, preaching to him about the lack of freedom in Cuba. In protest, Bobby and his band are disruptive in public, leading to their arrest. Gustavo and Yolanda enjoy each other's company on the beach, though they are refused service at a bar that is for tourists only. A rich Italian businessman, Claudio, buys them two beers out of sympathy.
Tomás informs Gustavo that he is reluctantly accepting a job as a pianist at a tourist bar, as it pays considerably more than his job as a professional psychiatrist. Tomás is somewhat dismayed at the irony. Bobby is interrogated in prison, where he is beaten for his insubordination. Gustavo and Tomás bail him out. Yolanda is upset that Gustavo is leaving for Prague. She tells Gustavo that she dreams of living in Miami.
Bobby and his band deliberately infect themselves with HIV, stating if they have to choose between "socialism or death", a popular slogan in Cuban propaganda, they choose death. Gustavo and Tomás are horrified. Gustavo and Yolanda go to a cheap hotel so they can have sex. Gustavo is too depressed, however. Instead he starts talking about his problems. Yolanda leaves. Gustavo looks for Yolanda at her home, but she is not there. He later sees her getting into a car with Claudio.
Gustavo confronts Yolanda, who says Claudio bought her just dinner, and that nothing happened. Police come to arrest Bobby, on the grounds that he has AIDS. Gustavo and Tomás visit Bobby in the detainment camp for people infected with AIDS. Bobby apologises for how his choice affected his family.
...
Wikipedia