Una noche

It mostly takes place in the daylight, but Una noche is surprisingly stringent and politically uncompromised in its dark take on life in 21st-century Cuba for three teenagers who ultimately decide to flee. (“Surprisingly” because first time filmmaker Lucy Mulloy was allowed to shoot the film in Havana with the cooperation of the Castro government… Two of her three principal actors subsequently asked for asylum immediately upon arriving in the US for the film’s Tribeca Film Festival screening in April.)

Not that this powerful, sexy, exuberant movie is propagandistic; in fact it’s a vivid, textured snapshot that captures the rhythm and colour of this hot, vibrant country. And Mulloy doesn’t shirk from showing endemic poverty, or the pragmatic, morally compromised choices forced on her characters, whether they’re engaged in servicing the desires of rich tourists, petty theft or bartering on the black market (and always keeping an eye out for police informers). Elio (Javier Núñez Florián) has another reason for unhappiness: a crush on his handsome friend and coworker Raul (Dariel Arrechaga), a ladies man who is more interested in Elio’s twin sister, Lila (Anailín de la Rúa de la Torre). When Raul gets into serious trouble the boys are forced to rush their escape plan, in a desperate and dangerous bid for freedom…