Santa & Andres (2016)

movie

(232)

Country: Colombia, Cuba, France
Genres: Drama
Release: 2016-10-01
Director: Carlos Lechuga
Writers: Eliseo Altunaga , Carlos Lechuga
Language: Spanish
Stars: Lola Amores , Eduardo Martinez , Cesar Domínguez , Cesar Domínguez , Luna Tinoco , George Abreu , Ederlys Rodriguez Perez , Ederlys Rodriguez Perez , Maikel Alexi Sánchez , Maikel Alexi Sánchez
Runtime: 105 min
Awards: 5 wins & 7 nominations
AKA: Santa & Andrés , Santa i Andres (Poland) , Santa y Andrés (France, French Republic) , Santa & Andrés (Germany) , Santa & Andrés (Cuba) , Santa & Andrés (Canada) , Santa y Andres (Cuba)Santa y Andres
Plot: This movie centers around the life of Andrés, who is a gay Cuban writer that had been imprisoned for 8 years due to his works not being compliant with the Cuban regime. He has begun a second book that he must hide from the government officials and from Santa when she comes to prevent him from leaving his home. Over time, they become friends and Santa begins to distrust a government that would be so cruel to a man that she trusts simply for his homosexuality. He is "publicly" shamed in front of two government officials and Santa when she is forced to throw eggs at him and the two men sing the Cuban national anthem while Andres cries. At the end of the movie, he attempts to leave the island with someone who will take him to Miami FL, and is able to escape with his book. Santa catches him as he is leaving, and gives him a hug, implying that she won't say anything about his escape. The ending is ambiguous in that we do not know if he made it to the US. In this film, which has been deemed illegal to view in Cuba, we see the propaganda by the Cuban government to slander Andres for his sexuality. We see that the government is overly controlling of the people, and the true poverty in the nation, along with the rampant censorship of works that are not congruent with the nation's regime. The marginalization of homosexuals is obvious and implied to have forced Andres's friends to flee to the United States as well.
IMDB:tt5974422