Film Analysis: Fresa y Chocolate (1993) by Tomás Gutiérrez Alea and Juan Carlos Tabío
So long as the revolution leaves out those that do not fit the ideal mold, it can never be complete. Tolerance and acceptance of others is a key piece in societal progress, and without it there can be no moving forward. The film 'Fresa y Chocolate' is a film that attempts to show us how through time, people can become accepting of these differences.That no matter how deeply ingrained, values can always change. As the film’s main character David navigates through Cuban society as a young Marxist, his values are called into question by his experiences with Diego, a homosexual intellectual critical of the Cuban revolution.
As the film begins, David meets Diego outside an ice cream shop one sunny afternoon as Diego attempts to seduce the young man. David’s initial reaction to Diego sitting down is to get up and find another place for himself, but when he finds no open tables, he must sit back down and humor the stranger. Right away we can see how David is made uncomfortable simply by the presence of Diego at his table. David puts his head down and eats his chocolate ice cream. Diego eventually appeals to David with a book and telling David he has pictures of him at a university play and they go back to Diego’s apartment.
The scene in the taxi outside of the apartment displays the macho insecurity present in David’s character as he becomes embarrassed being seen with this gay man by the family in the back. His humiliation is furthered when Diego hands him the flowers and he must exit the cab holding them. He quickly shoves them back in Diego’s hands to try and show people he is not ‘with’ Diego. Once inside the apartment Diego pulls out all the stops to try and woo David. This sequence is a sort of play on the predatory homosexual stereotype. In many ways, Diego is hunting after David, and many straight men fear the prospect of being propositioned by another man. This scene brings that fear right out in front of the film and confronts it head on by offering a picture of a close platonic relationship between a hetero- and homo- sexual man.
After David has decided he has had enough and returns to his dormitory, he reveals to his friend Miguel the experience he just had, who becomes very interested in Diego and wonders if he might be a subversive. He questions how David could tell he was a homosexual, and David says how he just knew. How Diego ate strawberry when he could have had chocolate; showing how David himself stereotypes and passes judgement on others. Miguel in this film represents the stereotypical Cuban machismo, and it seems fitting that he almost immediately becomes suspicious of the homosexual. It is not enough that Diego claims to believe in the revolution; simply because he is a homosexual he is not to be trusted. This context is important because it is the starting point for David’s character as a man intolerant towards homosexuals.
This position is further conveyed when David tells Diego that he is sick and asks why he doesn’t see a doctor. David reveals that he believes homosexuality to be a problem with the glands and that he can get it ‘fixed.’ This scene is pivotal toward David’s evolution as a character because it provides the first rational context toward acceptance. In this sequence, Diego passionately questions why David does not view it as possible for Diego to control his libido. He then turns this around by questioning whether David can control himself to get work done. By doing this David is forced to look at homosexuality differently. To many people, homosexuality is a perversion, and so they don’t understand how they live normal lives outside of that supposed perversion. Judging by David’s reaction, it seems as though this might be the first time he actually looked at this issue in such a way and from this point on David’s character begins to undergo a transformation.
As the film progresses and David becomes friendlier with Diego, his character becomes more and more disenfranchised as he starts to question the motives of his friends. Through intellectual debates and exchanging literature, David begins to look at Diego as a mentor; valuing his opinions and looking to him for emotional support. This becomes apparent when David shows up at Diego’s apartment after being left for good by Vivian to drink away his sorrows with American whiskey. At this point it becomes clear that David has fundamentally changed as a man. Once a man so suspicious of homosexuals he was uncomfortable being in an apartment with a closed door; David now sits in this same apartment shirtless and passed out drunk.
This change is represented in the film also through the ritualized dinner in which Diego enters David into the fraternity of Lezama’s worshippers. In this scene David dresses up and eats extravagant food with his homosexual and prostitute friends; a scene the likes of which might have caused the David from the beginning of the film to rally against. David no longer cares about being seen in public with his friend, or if others think he is homosexual. This is shown by David bringing flowers over to his friend’s apartment. Earlier in the film, David was made uncomfortable holding the delicate bouquet; but having grown to accept Diego for the man he is, David can now freely bring flowers to his homosexual friend.
Another example of David’s evolution can be seen when Diego reveals to David that he is leaving the country. Earlier in the film, David had refused to hug Diego, but as Diego pleads to David, he reaches out and embraces his friend. This is symbolic because it represents solidarity between the two men. No longer fettered by concepts of machismo or any other societal hang-ups, the two men are free to express their emotion toward each other and physically embrace each other.
The film 'Fresa y Chocolate' attempts to show us how values and ideas can change through experience and compassion. As David begins to become comfortable with Diego and feel an emotional connection, his views on not only homosexuality, but live and the revolution in general, fundamentally change. The film shows us how despite our differences, we are all the same; with the same needs, desires, and right to dignity. The final scene in the film highlights this sentiment wonderfully, as Diego comments to David, ‘...The only problem is that you’re not gay,’ to which David replies, ‘Nobody’s perfect.’
