Like the sweat that glistens on the bodies of the boys who stroll the malecon, sex and sensuality ooze from the pores of the Cuban people. Havana, from its heydays in the 1950's as the nightlife capital of Latin America, to its current position as a favored vacation destination for toursits, echoes the sexiness of itspeople. In Noelle Stout's brilliant documentary Luchando we witness first hand how young Cuban men and women yield their sex-appeal into paid intimate trysts in order to survive in the crumbling economy of modern-day Cuba. With remnants of cinema-vérité, Stout’s camera exposes the world of same-sex prostitution through the lives of four subjects. Diosa is a transexual whose father has thrown her out. La Gorda is a full-figured bisexual woman who aspires to be a rapper. Manuel is a gorgeous young man navigating his sexual orientation as he becomes involved in long-term relationships of convenience with men. And then Yuris, a cute but hot-headed 19 year old whose promiscuity with women has resulted in 4 children that he must support by having sex with men for money. Though Cuba's sex-trade has long been exploited by toursits and documented by filmmakers, this fascinating film shows Cubans turning to each other for sexual intimacy and economic gain. In a place where the evidence of communism abounds, Luchando explicitly shows the Cuban people embracing capitalism by selling themselves for cash. In Spanish with English subtitles.

— Kareem Tabsch