The 2016 film by Pavel Giroud is part of the IV Hispanic Film Series that runs Sept. 21 through Nov. 30.
Thursday, Nov. 8
IV Hispanic Film Series: “El acompañante,” (The Companion)
LaRose Digital Theatre, Koury Business Center, 5:30 p.m.
PAVEL GIROUD / CUBA / 2016 / 104 minutes
Spanish with English subtitles
Set in 1988 Cuba as the government dispatched HIV patients to AIDS centers under military rule, “El acompañante” narrates the unlikely friendship between a boxing champion and a conflictive patient.
After failing a doping test, Horacio Romero has no other choice but to serve a sentence. His fate is in Los Cocos, a sanatorium under military rule where HIV patients are compulsorily confined, with the exception of a weekly pass to visit their families under the supervision of personal wardens called “companions.”
As a “companion,” Horacio is supposed to keep an eye on Daniel, the most conflictive patient in the ward, and get him to comply with the regulations. Their interests immediately collide as Daniel is set to spend his last days in freedom and is ready to do anything to make this happen.
Horacio, on the other hand, dreams about boxing again to get his champion’s status back. For that to happen, however, he must first win this battle out of the ring.
Sponsored by the Department of World Languages and Cultures / Latin American Studies / Sigma Delta Pi / El Centro / Pragda / Spain-USA Foundation / Secretary of State for Culture of Spain