This could have been great, as it is technically a good achievement, but it is a dishonest piece of propaganda. It is a cowardice to use LGBT struggle and suffering as a tool for capitalist propaganda. Cuban regime did criminalised homossexuals (what has changed only more recently) and it is fair and necessary to say that in cinema. However, it is unbelievable that a Hollywood film uses it to establish a fallacious relation between homophobia and socialism and to delegitimaze Cuban polity as a whole, whereas in some states in USA criminalisation of homossexuality was considered as unconsitutional only in XXI century! There is a right-wing propaganda bias, instead of a fair homage to important writer Reinaldo Arenas or of a serious help to the fight against homophobia. It is made clear in some moments: 1) The bureaucrat say something that is obviously a not credible dialog in real life but a shameless attempt to show Cuba as a 'scarecrow': "People that make art are dangerous to any dictatorship. We create beauty and beauty is the enemy. Artists are escapists, artists are counter-revolutionary." 2) Later, the main character, very well played by top actor Javier Bardem, says: "The difference between the Communist system and the capitalist system is that when they give you a kick in the ass, in the Communist system you have to applaud, in the capitalist system, you can scream." 3) Guantánamo Bay USA detention camp is mentioned as if it were a place of freedom, where Arenas could go! It is really harsh to see an imperialist distortion like this and just not care. To resume, Arenas, who was awarded internationally and became an opposer to Castrism, deserved a more serious film than a so biased propaganda. LGBT people as a wgole deserve it too, as using them this way is quite disrespectful.