Tomás Gutiérrez Alea

Directing

Tomás Gutiérrez Alea

Born December 11, 1928 · Havana, Cuba

Died April 16, 1996 · aged 67

Tomás Gutiérrez Alea was a Cuban film director and screenwriter. He wrote and directed more than twenty features, documentaries, and short films, which are known for his sharp insight into post-Revolutionary Cuba, and possess a delicate balance between dedication to the revolution and criticism of its social, economic, and political aftermaths in the country.

Known For

Strawberry and ChocolateStrawberry and Chocolate · 1993
Strawberry and Chocolate
★ 7.01993
MovieComedyDrama
In 1979 Cuba, flamboyant gay artist Diego attempts to seduce straitlaced David, an idealistic young communist, and fails dismally. But David conspires to be "friends" with Diego so he can monitor the artist's subversive life for the state. As Diego and David discuss politics, individuality and personal expression in Castro's Cuba, a genuine friendship develops between the two.
Death of a BureaucratDeath of a Bureaucrat · 1966
Death of a Bureaucrat
★ 7.41966
MovieComedy
A model Cuban revolutionary tragically dies at work and, as a badge of honor, is buried with his labor card in his suit pocket. When his widow attempts to apply for his pension, the pension office demands the original labor card. Desperate, his nephew embarks on an increasingly chaotic and surreal quest through the Cuban bureaucratic system to secure permission to exhume the body, only to be met with endless forms, contradictory regulations, and apathetic officials.
Memories of UnderdevelopmentMemories of Underdevelopment · 1968
Memories of Underdevelopment
★ 7.21968
MovieDrama
In the aftermath of the Bay of Pigs incident, Sergio chooses to stay behind in Cuba while his wife and family escape to neighboring Miami. Alone in a brave new world, Sergio observes the constant threat of foreign invasion while chasing young women all over Havana. He finally meets Elena, a young girl he seeks to mould into the image of his ex-wife, but at what cost to himself?
GuantanameraGuantanamera · 1995
Guantanamera
★ 6.51995
MovieDramaComedy
During the 'Special Period', the members of a funeral procession cross paths with truckdrivers who have to take the same route, and begin to talk about God and the world. They discover that life for both groups has many similarities, as well as a lot of differences.
A Cuban Fight Against DemonsA Cuban Fight Against Demons · 1972
A Cuban Fight Against Demons
★ 5.61972
MovieDrama
In 1672 Cuban revolutionaries launch an uprising against the Spanish who are occupying the country. Preserved by the Academy Film Archive in 2017.
The SurvivorsThe Survivors · 1979
The Survivors
★ 7.41979
MovieDramaComedy
A bourgeois Cuban family of aristocratic origin locks itself into its mansion when the Cuban Revolution comes to power, waiting for the new regime to be overthrown. As time passes, they regress to older and older systems of political order, from capitalism to feudalism to "primitive savagery."
CumbiteCumbite · 1964
Cumbite
★ 6.21964
MovieDrama
A Haitian son returns from fifteen years in Cuba to find his home village afflicted with the double plague of drought and strife. A Cuban production from the director of Memories of Underdevelopment. In Spanish.
One Way or AnotherOne Way or Another · 1977
One Way or Another
★ 6.41977
MovieDramaRomance
In Miraflores, Cuba, the growing romance between Mario, a factory worker, and Yolanda, a schoolteacher, throws into relief the differences in their perspectives and values in Revolutionary Cuba.

Filmography

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Con el amor no se juegaCon el amor no se juega · 1991
Con el amor no se juega
★ 6.51991
MovieDramaRomance
Susana, a beautiful young girl living in 1990, is happily looking forward to her forthcoming marriage - and has bought an antique mirror to grace her future home. Three weeks before the wedding, the mirror is delivered to her Grandmother's home and taken to Susana's room. Later that day, when looking into the glass, Susana is startled to see the image of a handsome soldier, Nicolas (from 1863), instead of her own reflection. It soon becomes obvious that he can see Susana as clearly as she can see him - and life, for them both, is never quite the same again. Contains three shorts as a trilogy: The Two Way Mirror (El espejo de dos lunas) 1990, 0:29:23 With You from a Distance (Contigo en la distancia) 1991, 0:27:38 Saturday Night Thief (Ladrón de sábado) 1996, 0:24:57

Director