We Were Strangers

China watches her brother Manolo get gunned down by a plain-clothes officer on the steps of the University of Havana. Shock and anger drive her vow to avenge him rather than mourn, marking the personal turn toward a revolutionary path. The event exposes the brutality of the regime and sparks the broader call for collective action.

At Manolo's funeral, Tony Fenner, an American, approaches China and proposes that she join his anti-government underground group. He offers a coordinated path to strike back at the corruption ruling Havana, rather than pursuing solo vengeance. China considers the offer, setting the stage for a larger political alliance.

Fenner outlines a daring plan: dig a tunnel from China's house under the cemetery to reach the burial site of a senior official, Contreras. He forms a core team—Guillermo Montilla, Miguel, and Ramón Sánchez—to carry out the tunnel work. The crew confronts the moral weight of killing officials and risking bystanders.

The group spends days digging the tunnel beneath Havana's cemetery area. They wrestle with the idea that some officials may not be wholly evil and worry about innocent deaths. The project strains their loyalties and resolve.

Ramón Sánchez, the graduate student, succumbs to the ethical conflict, wanders away, and later dies in a traffic accident. His death underscores the human costs of their clandestine mission. The remaining members are left to confront the consequences of their choices.

Ariete harasses China, jealous of her relationship with Fenner, and discovers Fenner's Cuban birth. The personal tensions complicate the revolutionary plan and threaten to derail their operation. The spy-like pressure from Ariete heightens the danger around the group.

When the tunnel is ready, Contreras is assassinated as planned. The success of the assassination appears to advance their objective, though new complications soon surface. A munitions expert prepares to place the bomb at the funeral.

They learn that the burial will not take place at the family tomb as expected, throwing the timing for the funeral bomb into disarray. The munitions expert readies the device, but the altered arrangements cause their plan to fail. With the mission stymied, Fenner is urged to leave Cuba to avoid capture.

China arranges to obtain the necessary funds from Fenner's bank account, a move that requires careful coordination as Fenner is tailed by Ariete's men. Fenner refuses to retreat quietly, insisting on staying for China, and the pair confronts the danger together. They allocate a route for Fenner to depart Cuba before any arrest can occur.

Fenner goes to China's house to collect the funds, and a gun battle erupts with the police. China provides cover by taking up a submachine gun while Fenner hurls sticks of dynamite toward the officers. The confrontation ends with Fenner being mortally wounded.

Fenner dies as the bells ring for the outbreak of revolution and popular celebration, a bittersweet end to his involvement. China is left to process both personal loss and the political cost of their actions. The scene emphasizes that revolution comes at a high price.

China witnesses Fenner's death while bells ring to mark the outbreak of revolution. The moment underscores the personal cost of political violence and the stark choices made in Havana.