Viva – 7.5

A very sweet movie about a young Cuban caught between his macho, ex-con father and his aspirations as a drag queen. There are plenty of cliches and moments of predictable melodrama, but the setting – the slums of Havana – is realistic enough that you forgive some predictabilities in this, surprisingly, Irish-made film. Most of all, the lead actor, Hector Medina, is so guileless and winning that you feel a happy ending is, realistic or not, more than deserved.