Bitter Sugar addresses MORE problems associated with politics and economic systems than almost any film from any country in a single film (There should be some award for such achievements...). One of the greatest things it accomplishes is illustrating the problems with BOTH ideal-socialist Cuba (which is gradually disappearing) and the alternative, open-market Cuba that is gradually developing in the 1990s. The bad side of a socialist state/society is clearly shown with the Gustavo's naive belief in the party and promises from the party that never pay off, as well as the imprisonment of cultural/political subversives such as his brother. On the capitalist side, there is the creeping inequality associated with capitalism, which metes out privilege and opportunity to the highest bidder, thus turning the nationalist dream on its head, turning national against national, as seen in the tourist hotels and bars where locals can't afford goods and services or are turned away. This capitalism colonizes even emotions such as love, or at least sex plus the semblance of emotional presence and attachment (which some say IS love), which can be exchanged for opportunity: Gustavo's girlfriend has all the talent but no opportunity to achieve her 'ideal' career as socialism promises. This film shows how there is no perfect way out, no utopia, no perfect system.
The relationships between the characters, though cliché (a couple, two brothers, father-son) and simple, work very well. Neither Gustavo nor his girlfriend are ideologues, they each come to realize that their choice is neither simple, nor certain in terms of where it will lead them. Few films have effectively shown how complicated personal politics really are in socialist/communist states. Most either just show the ruthlessness of the state, or the humanity of an individual or group of individuals against the state, without contradictions.
This film is neither pro- nor anti- Castro. Or it is both/and. This is Cuban national cinema; made for the Cuban nation as opposed to the Cuban state. It is a critical reflection on the new Cuba, and thus indirectly states that socialist Cuba may be no worse, at the same time as it is a critical reflection on socialist Cuba. It addresses almost the major problems contemporary Cubans face, and the contradictions between them and in the solutions to them.
If we want to engage in a debate about the bias of the film, maybe considering the director/writer is a good place to start. Leon Ichaso is Cuban-born. He directed a few episodes of Miami Vice (politically left or right? anyone?), made a few films about salsa musicians and their personal struggles or struggles to be true to their culture, a documentary about Muhammad Ali, and most recently, the TV series about terrorists in LA 'Sleeper Cell'. Only this last one, in my opinion, definitively puts him in a political camp (right wing, obviously).
The relationships between the characters, though cliché (a couple, two brothers, father-son) and simple, work very well. Neither Gustavo nor his girlfriend are ideologues, they each come to realize that their choice is neither simple, nor certain in terms of where it will lead them. Few films have effectively shown how complicated personal politics really are in socialist/communist states. Most either just show the ruthlessness of the state, or the humanity of an individual or group of individuals against the state, without contradictions.
This film is neither pro- nor anti- Castro. Or it is both/and. This is Cuban national cinema; made for the Cuban nation as opposed to the Cuban state. It is a critical reflection on the new Cuba, and thus indirectly states that socialist Cuba may be no worse, at the same time as it is a critical reflection on socialist Cuba. It addresses almost the major problems contemporary Cubans face, and the contradictions between them and in the solutions to them.
If we want to engage in a debate about the bias of the film, maybe considering the director/writer is a good place to start. Leon Ichaso is Cuban-born. He directed a few episodes of Miami Vice (politically left or right? anyone?), made a few films about salsa musicians and their personal struggles or struggles to be true to their culture, a documentary about Muhammad Ali, and most recently, the TV series about terrorists in LA 'Sleeper Cell'. Only this last one, in my opinion, definitively puts him in a political camp (right wing, obviously).