Bitter Sugar

Gustavo is a young man living in Cuba. He believes in the revolution wholeheartedly. He is waiting to be sent to one of the Eastern Bloc countries. He has been told he will study there. The trip, though, never comes off. While he waits he falls in love with a dancer called Yolanda. Her father once fell foul of the regime. The man served eight years in prison. That puts Gustavo in a difficult position. There is trouble at home as well. His brother plays music and is constantly at odds with the regime. The authorities stop the brother from playing. The more Gustavo looks around him, the more his beliefs crack. Everyone he loves is caught in the same trap. René Lavan and Mayte Vilán appear in the hundred and two minute film, an American and Dominican co-production Leon Ichaso finished in 1996.