There is no question this film is a brilliant achievement, yet it posed some large issues for me. First, it was filmed in Cuba and that really was a shock because of the U.S. boycott on all things Cuban which has existed for decades and which I have never really understood. Let's not forget that President Kennedy was killed specifically because of U.S Cuban policy which at the time was to assassinate Castro and destroy communism in Cuba. How we can justify the complex relationship we have with Communist China and still boycott Communist Cuba is a conundrum to say the least. The other issue for me with this film was the fact that I was under the distinct impression that tragic gay love stories were passé and something that was better left to a previous era. This tragic gay love story for all its modern aspects still smacks of something from a lost age and that did dilute the impact of the story for me. However, there is no denying that on many levels this film is brilliant and should be part of any serious film collection on this genre.