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The setup sounds like Kiss of the Spider Woman -- committed politico and homosexual exchange views in a Latin American setting -- but the mood is less grim and surrealistic. The odd couple dynamic works here because the script doesn't turn David, the young Communist, and Diego, the gay man, into symbols. David is young enough to be blindly committed to the cause of Communism, but not so entrenched in his social views as to dismiss Diego out of hand. Once Diego understands that David will not yield to him sexually, he tries to seduce him intellectually by offering him books to read and challenging his knee-jerk world view. Diego's apartment becomes their shelter from the world, a place where they enjoy music, discussions, and good food. David's sexual relationship with Diego's neighbor, Nancy, actually serves to bind the men closer together, as Nancy is Diego's best friend and confidante. The film doesn't flinch from portraying the Castro government's persecution of gays, but director Tomás Gutiérrez Alea may have sidestepped political heat by setting the story in 1979. Both leads are terrific; Vladimir Cruz ably charts David's subtle changes, and Jorge Perrugoria makes Diego a character of enormous charm and sympathy.