Before Night Falls (2000) User Reviews (141)

Engaging, poetic, touching bio-pic about Cuban poet Reinaldo Arenas.

[Ben_Cheshire · 8/10 · 25 April 2004]

Incredible central performance from Javier Bardem ties the film together and makes you really care what happens. Great supporting players: Sean Penn has one incredible scene early on, who had us convinced he was Cuban. We didn't at all recognise him. Johnny Depp plays two small parts, but two very memorable ones. Growly-voiced Michael Wincott (played the bad guy in The Crow and Along Came a Spider and The Doors' manager in The Doors) is memorable. Andrea di Stefano is great as a central antagonist of Reinaldo, as is the now-Hollywood-famous Olivier Martinez who plays a touching, platonic friend to Reinaldo.

Beautifully photographed and directed in an admirable manner that draws attention to style every now and then in a poetic way very fitting for a bio-pic about a poet, and at other times just utilises style to tells the story very well, and seem not to be fussing about style at all.

There are scenes here where the sound effects track stops and this gorgeous cello music by Carter Burwell (composer of Being John Malkovich, Meet Joe Black, Man who Wasn't There, with another beautiful score) plays while we watch Bardem sitting in a club while people dance around him, and the music tells us he is far away. It is a wonderful scene, akin to Kurosawa's use of music in the brilliant burning of the first castle scene in Ran.

The way the camera tells this story was so marvellous and slick (though using rough camera work to tell moments of uneasiness, importantly this is not over-used as it was in the recent Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind) that i knew the filmmaker had been influenced by American filmmaking, but throughout i had no idea the guy actually WAS American! The TV program misleadingly told us it was a Cuban movie (which it is not - it is an American production with Spanish, Cuban and American actors)

I'm even more shocked considering this is the guy who made Basquiat, which i always thought was more a tele-movie, and more about art than about movie-style. Julian Schnabel, i now learn, was a neo-expressionist painter in the 80's! Basquiat, about an artist, perhaps was a movie where he was making the transition between art-language and movie-language. Before Night Falls uses traditional storytelling, to be sure, but it has such a spellbinding cinematic quality i felt sure its director was one with cinema on the brain. Perhaps Schnabel has caught the bug after all.

Slow but beautiful

[paul2001sw-1 · 8/10 · 28 August 2005]

The little-discussed topic of the persecution of homosexuals in Castro's Cuba is the prevailing theme throughout Julan Schnabel's masterful film of the life of writer Reinaldo Arenas. But this is far more than a simple piece of political agit-prop; instead, it's a beautifully constructed movie about the artistic temperament but with plenty of the same quality itself; visually, the movie is consistently striking, and yet of a piece. There's also a fine performance from Javier Bardem in the lead role. What the film doesn't do very much is follow it's characters in real time for anything longer than the duration of a snapshot; this slightly distances the viewer from the mechanics of the drama, and in consequence, at times it feels slow. Instead, it communicates through images (and fragments of the writer's own poetry); and the scene where the hot air balloon rises through the roof of a ruined church is so perfectly created it's a work of art in itself. 'Before Night Falls' is not light entertainment; but it's seriously good.

Powerful and Affecting

[eht5y · 7/10 · 22 June 2005]

Julian Schnabel is primarily a visual artist and secondarily a film director, and his mastery of visual media dominates this patient and precise bio of the late Reynaldo Arenas, a novelist and poet who was imprisoned and later exiled from his native Cuba for his controversial writings and his open homosexuality.

Most of the objections to this film have to do with the faithfulness with which Schnabel treats the memoir of Arenas (also titled 'Before Night Falls'), which, despite its beauty, is undoubtedly biased in its presentation of history. Furthermore, Schnabel seems to downplay Arenas' contempt for Fidel Castro and the post-revolutionary totalitarianism of his regime, under which countless poets, writers, artists, and practitioners of alternative lifestyles deemed 'counter-revolutionary' by the regime were jailed, tortured, murdered, and, in some cases, expelled from Cuba. Schnabel presents Arenas as far more of a victim than an active voice of dissent, which is, in a certain sense, unfaithful to his legacy. It feels as if Schnabel may have had some reservation about being overcritical of Castro and, by default, of Communism, both of which are sympathized with by many artists and leftists worldwide (including the family of the film's star, Javier Bardem, a Spaniard whose parents--influential figures in Spanish cinema--are longtime outspoken Communists/Socialists).

Both actor and director have publicly avowed that the film means to critique totalitarianism in general more so than Castro or Communist Cuba in particular, which seems like a bit of a cop-out. Nevertheless, art, despite its inherently political nature, should strive to be a-political, and this film does so effectively with its blending of gorgeous image and fine, subtle performance, particularly by Bardem as Arenas. Bardem has the face of a classical statue, and his deep set eyes, broken, Roman nose, and expressive mouth are mesmerizing. With the right role, he could (and should) be a major star in the US, as he has been for some time in his native Spain. Every move he makes is compelling to watch, and he creates a sympathy for Arenas few other actors could manage. His narration of Arenas' poetry and prose is patient and soulful, adding much to the already gorgeous shots of rural and urban settings (the film employs archival footage from Cuba, but was filmed in Merida and Veracruz, Mexico, in the Yucatan, the region of Mexico closest to Cuba).

Because the film is based on a memoir, it proceeds episodically, following the young Arenas from his boyhood to his early accomplishments as a poet and novelist through his imprisonment and later his escape to the United States during Castro's 'purge' of undesirables in 1980 (the same means by which Tony Montana escapes Cuba in 'Scarface'), when criminals and homosexuals were invited to voluntarily expatriate to Miami so that the demand for basic resources in Cuba under the US-led embargo could be relieved somewhat. The film spends considerable time reflecting on Arenas' sexual initiation and his gay lifestyle, which is slightly problematic in that it suggests that Arenas was persecuted solely for being homosexual, which is at best a half-truth. Though Arenas himself was probably persecuted less for his lifestyle than for his public criticism of the regime, it is probably not inaccurate in its portrayal of the turn against art, life, and experimentation taken by Castro's brutal totalitarian ethos. In any case, Arenas ultimately makes his way to New York with his friend Lazaro (Olivier Martinez), where in 1987 he began to suffer symptoms of AIDS. He died in 1990, after which his memoir and several letters condemning Castro and the failure of the US to rescue the Cuban people from his tyranny were published, to wide acclaim.

The film should not be overly criticized for its historical errors and omissions, because it is primarily a showcase for Schnabel's artistry as a director and Bardem's astonishingly charismatic performance as Arenas. The film is also graced by fine performances by Martinez as Lazaro, who rebuffs Arenas' sexual advances but later becomes his dearest and most trusted friend; Johnny Depp in dual roles as a jail house transvestite who helps Arenas smuggle his manuscripts out to the world and as a sadistic prison guard; Sean Penn as a farmer who encounters the young Arenas on the road to Havana; and Michael Wincott as Herbet Z. Ochoa, a poet and essayist forced to publicly renounce his art by a Communist tribunal.

Evocative film-making

[Chris_Docker · 7/10 · 17 June 2001]

Evocative and moving story based on the life of Cuban writer Reinaldo Arenas. The film has excellent acting from Javier Bardem (and smaller but equally excellent performances from Johnny Depp and Sean Penn), wonderful scenery and, most of all, powerful and moving snippets from the work of a novelist whose poetic powers can inspire and lift above the poverty of life or bring emotional poignancy to the depths. This is set in a country where, under Castro's rule, there is no "upper class" - and yet where brutal intolerance can be shown to any 'misfits'. Arenas happens to be homosexual, which is unacceptable, and his poetry extols natural beauty (which is, it seems, seen as counter-revolutionary). The writer survives torture and imprisonment but his works survive and the success of his novels prove an inspiration to him as he survives in abject conditions. The film is a bit slow to start, and occasionally meandering, but overall it provides a powerful piece of cinema.

Thought Provoking Drama

[jhclues · 10/10 · 12 May 2001]

There's a lyrical quality to this film that makes the brutality of the oppression it depicts seem almost tangible, and `Before Night Falls, ` directed by Julian Schnabel, is photographed in a way that gives much of it something of a documentary feel (and, indeed, some archival footage is included), which defines the drama and adds to the overall impact of the film. And quite a story it is. The true story of writer Reinaldo Arenas (Javier Bardem), who was born in Cuba in 1943, it touches on his childhood, but concentrates on the '60s and '70s, during which time Arenas was considered a counter-revolutionary by the Cuban government because of his writing, as well as his homosexuality.

Schnabel pulls no punches as he presents an incisive picture of the suffering inflicted upon Arenas (and others) through the wanton mistreatment and discrimination of Castro's regime. Extremely well crafted and delivered, it's a film that makes a powerful statement about many of the things so many take for granted. Like freedom of speech and assembly. For as the film points out, in post-revolution Cuba, a gathering of more than three becomes a criminal offense; a group of people getting together for a poetry reading become criminals of the State, and the punishment for expressing one's own thoughts can be, at the very least, torture and imprisonment.

This is the environment in which Arenas grew and matured, as a person, a poet, a writer; still, he was irrepressible when it came to his work, and managed to create and have some of it published, but only by smuggling it out of Cuba (in one instance to France, where his book was named Best Foreign Novel of the year). It's a ruthless, uncompromising world Schnabel lays bare with his camera, and it's that realistic recreation of that very real time and place that is one of the strengths of this film. But what really drives it and makes it so compelling, is Bardem's incredible portrayal of Arenas.

To say that Bardem's performance was worthy of an Oscar would be an understatement; along with Ed Harris (in `Pollock'), it was quite simply one of the two best of the year (2000). In order to bring Arenas to life, it was necessary for Bardem to capture all of the myriad complexities of the man and the artist, which he did-- and to perfection. It's a challenging role, and Bardem more than lives up to it, with a detailed performance through which he expresses the physical, as well as the emotional aspects of the character: His mannerisms, his walk, the body language that says so much about who he is; how he copes with living in a seemingly hopeless situation. By the end of the movie, because of Bardem, you know who Reinaldo Arenas was, and you're not likely to forget him.

The most poignant scenes in the film are those in which Arenas' words are being recited as the camera creates a visual context for them, looking out through the window of a moving car or bus at the streets, towns, buildings and people, as Arenas describes them. These scenes fill the senses and are virtually transporting; and it is in them that the true poetic nature of Arenas is made manifest. It's beautiful imagery, and the contrast between the beauty of the words and the ugliness of the reality against which it is set is powerful. All of which is beautifully conceived and executed by Schnabel; an excellent piece of filmmaking.

In a dual supporting performance, Johnny Depp is effective as Bon Bon, a `queen' Arenas meets during his incarceration, and also as Lieutenant Victor, who oversees the prison. Each character is unique, and it's quite a showcase for Depp's versatility.

Rounding out the supporting cast are Olivier Martinez (Lazaro), Andrea Di Stefano (Pepe), Sean Penn (Cuco), Michael Wincott (Herberto), Pedro Armendariz Jr. (Reinaldo's Grandfather) and Vito Maria Schnabel (Teenage Reinaldo). A film that is not necessarily entertaining, and at times unpleasant to watch because of it's stark realism, `Before Night Falls' is, nevertheless, thought-provoking, riveting drama that is thoroughly engrossing. And it proves that beauty can indeed be found in the least likely of places. But it also makes you realize that it is up to each individual to care enough to seek it out, and to hopefully have the wisdom to realize it once it is found. And that's the real beauty of a film like this; it affords you the opportunity to do just that. I rate this one 10/10.

fascinating glimpse into Castro's Cuba

[Buddy-51 · 15 July 2001]

***SPOILERS*** ***SPOILERS*** `Before Night Falls' is a compelling film that works on several different levels simultaneously: as a biography of the late Cuban poet and novelist Reinaldo Arenas; as a scathing indictment of Castro's repressive Communist regime; and as a celebration of the human spirit flourishing under even the most adverse of circumstances. What it doesn't quite do, though, is dig very deeply into the mind and spirit of its main character. We are fascinated by the atmosphere and events that define this life story. We just don't feel like we get to know very well the man at its core.

The film, which spans five decades (from 1943 - 1990), stars the brilliant Javier Bardem as Arenas, a homosexual writer caught in a culture openly hostile to both homosexuals and writers. One of the theses that the film posits - one taken directly from Arenas' writings - is that governmental repression often has the paradoxical effect of actually ENCOURAGING the very elements it is trying to stifle. Thus, for a while at least, Arenas is allowed to express fairly openly his homosexual nature. In fact, it is even pointed out to us that a number of high government officials are allowed to flagrantly display their sexuality with little or no consequences. Yet, at the same time, the government has set up concentration camps filled with gays and other political prisoners. But it is not so much for his sexuality that Arenas is eventually incarcerated and tortured - it simply provides a convenient excuse - but for his radical anti-Castro ideas as reflected in his poetry and novels. For it is ideas that most threaten any totalitarian regime, and Castro's is certainly no exception.

The movie is so ambitious in its scope and time frame that it occasionally loses us along the way. Every now and then we are not quite sure who is who, where we happen to be, or what exactly is happening in the story. This is partly the result of Julian Schnabel's rather impressionistic directorial style, providing us with quick cuts of imaginings and/or memories that flash through Arenas' mind. The problem is that we can't always tell which is a memory and which a mere fanciful vision. For instance, in one scene, a desperate Arenas, in an attempt to evade the authorities, sails out for Florida in nothing more than an old inner tube. The way the scene is shot we are led to believe, initially, that he has made it safely to America's shore, only to discover later that he is still on Cuba. It is a minor point, but the style often leaves us feeling unnecessarily disoriented at times.

On the other hand, the style also contributes a strangely dreamy, otherworldly feel to the film. This matches perfectly the rather exotic nature of Arenas himself, a man who seems to be torn between accepting his homosexuality and fighting the demons that come along with being a societal outcast. When Arenas finally makes it to the `land of freedom' as part of the Mariel boat lift of 1980, fate deals him another cruel blow in the form of AIDS. Yet, Arenas' words live on, a testament both to the cruelty and brutality of life under a dictatorship and to the strength of spirit reflected in any artist who tries to overcome it.

As Arenas, Barkem gives a riveting performance, going far beyond the subtle effeminate mannerisms that define the character's surface. Yet, strangely enough, even though the film runs well over two hours and there is almost no scene in which Arenas is not present, we never feel like we really get to know him very well. Perhaps it is because, in his romantic relationships, in particular, Arenas remains such an inscrutable enigma. Apart from his sexual orientation, we often can't tell what makes this character tick. This is why Barkem's performance is so indispensable to the film. The richness he provides in his every word, facial expression and gesture makes Arenas a very real and very recognizable figure. Without Barkem, `Before Night Falls' would be much less compelling than it is.

And the fact is, that for all its imperfections, `Before Night Falls' IS a very compelling film, in terms of style, performance, atmosphere and theme. Despite the dissatisfaction we may feel with the film at times, the truth is that the story itself is so gripping that our interest never flags for a moment. And if for no other reason than for the uncompromising glimpse it affords into the hitherto unexamined world of Castro's Cuba, the film cries out to be seen.

"The panorama of imminent terror..."

[moonspinner55 · 6/10 · 30 March 2009]

Javier Bardem gives an incredible performance in this wrenching autobiography of Cuban poet and novelist Reinaldo Arenas who, in 1980, sought political asylum to the United States via his homosexuality after suffering for years under Castro's laws decrying "political dissidents and sexual deviates." Born in the north Province of Oriente in Cuba in 1943, Arenas was raised mostly by his female relatives, his father having been banished from the family early on by his mother. Before he was a teenager, Arenas was already writing (carving words on tree trunks for the lack of paper); by the 1960s, he was in Havana studying at the university and winning awards and admirers. These early scenes work best for the film, as the narrative is lean and direct, and the lovely visual attributes (courtesy cinematographers Xavier Pérez Grobet and Guillermo Rosas) clearly delineate a particular (and turbulent) time and place with astonishing skill. This picture truly looks ravishing, and director Julian Schnabel relaxes the pace to help viewers take it all in. Unfortunately, after Arenas is arrested on fatuous molestation charges--and escapes from custody, and then gets caught and is put through hell--the narrative becomes more obscure, with Schnabel relishing in artistic flourishes at the expense of the picture's immediacy. Arenas becomes the Patron Saint of Suffering and, when Reinaldo finally gets to New York City, what should've been an exhilarating moment is squashed together with his sickness and death (10 years later!). It is to Bardem's credit as an actor that the final scenes work at all, because by this point we have lost touch with the inner-workings of the artist. Putting a writer's life on film has always been a difficult task for filmmakers (the process of creating isn't always a cinematic one), but Schnabel was doing so well in the first and second acts--allowing Reinaldo's talents to bloom--that it's doubly disappointing his final curtain should play as melodrama. **1/2 from ****

Many praises for a movie about freedom and artistic expression

[Preston-10 · 10/10 · 10 February 2001]

Before Night Falls is a brilliantly devised and executed account about the famed Cuban novelist Reinaldo Arenas. The film documents his childhood as a peasant, his support for Castro's rebels as an idealist youth, and as a man, his struggles, not just as an independent thinker but also as a gay man living in Communist Cuba. Throughout the film we respond to his hopes, fears, and claustrophobia as we witness the persecution of a true artist.

As a student of Latin American History and Literature I was pleased with the way the film handled the historical context of Arenas' time. The political context of Before Night Falls shouldn't come as any surprise. The artistic, social and political invisibility of gays in Cuba under the Cuban Revolution represented a dark stain on the revolutionary record. In 1965 Fidel Castro told Lee Lockwood (in Castro's Cuba, Cuba's Fidel) that `we would never come to believe that a homosexual could embody the conditions and requirements of conduct that would enable us to consider him a true Revolutionary, a true communist militant. A deviation of that nature clashes with the concept we have of what a militant Communist must be' In the mid-1960's, the infamous UMAP work camps (Unidades Militares de Auyuda a la Producción) sought to rehabilitate what they perceived as alleged antisocial elements. This is an event that is accurately depicted in Schnabel's film. The purges and denunciations of homosexuals continued into the 1980's. Today in Cuba discrimination against gays still represents a major problem. The revolution dealt with gender and racial discrimination but not with discrimination against gays. This is all documented with stunning use of archival footage and reference accounts from Arenas' autobiography.

Any review of the film would be incomplete without mentioning Javier Bardem's work. I have seen a lot of movies and few performances are even in the same league as Bardem's. I was fascinated with how he carried this film with a performance that must have been very difficult for him to adjust to. The supporting work by Johnny Depp should also be praised. His dual performance, for me, accurately identified how many within Castro's army may have used their positions as a front to deny their own sexuality as well. Overall, I was very impressed with this film and I highly recommend it

Bardem Is Great, But Film Itself Left Me in the Cold

[evanston_dad · 6/10 · 13 July 2010]

It wasn't until "The Diving Bell and the Butterfly" that I warmed to the work of Julian Schnabel. Before that there was "Basquiat," which I actively disliked, and then there was "Before Night Falls," which I didn't dislike exactly, but which I also didn't exactly enjoy.

No complaints about the performance of Javier Bardem, before anyone knew who he was, as Cuban poet Reinaldo Arenas. But the film plays out as so many other biopics do, and it's pretty bleakly depressing by the time it's over. The final scenes, as we watch Arenas slowly disintegrate due to AIDS, are especially tough.

You might need to be a fan either of Schnabel the director or Arenas the poet to fully appreciate this movie. It wouldn't surprise me if everyone else felt somewhat left out in the cold by it.

Grade: B-

One of the few truly great...

[suzy q123 · 10/10 · 29 March 2001]

... and original films to come out in 2001. In a year of cookie cutter banal stupid films (check your local papers to see what I mean) this film dares to have a point of view. Shot in one of the most interesting styles (or lack of styles) filled with interesting people who seem like they could really exist, this is a film that I would dare to call a work of art. Why aren't more hollywood movies this bold and interesting?

a film about how creativity can flourish under oppression-well worth seeing

[utzutzutz · 7/10 · 1 May 2001]

A friend and I were recently discussing how the urge to create often burns more fiercely when it has been suppressed. Such is the theme of Before Night Falls, the biography of Cuban novelist/poet Reinaldo Arenas, whose life illustrates how creativity can flourish even under oppression, and what freedom truly means.

Born in an extremely poor province in 1943, Arenas nevertheless revels in the natural beauty that surrounds him. `The splendor of my childhood was unique because of its absolute poverty and absolute freedom,' he later noted. Clearly a born poet, the boy expresses himself by carving words into the family's trees, much to his grandfather's furor.

When he's 15, Arenas' family moves to Holguin, where the romance of Castro's rebel troops and their attempts to overthrow Batista inspire him to leave home and join the insurrection. Four years later he's acclimating to big city life in Havana and enjoying a job at the prestigious National Library that Communism has awarded him. But alongside Castro's revolution, a concurrent sexual revolution is brewing, and Arenas begins to embrace his homosexuality. He plunges himself into his writing, develops a circle of poets and lovers, and at age 20, writes the first of nine novels, the only one published in his homeland.

By the late 60s, Castro's jackals begin to send artists and homosexuals to concentration camps and suppress their work. Despite the lingering threat, Arenas continues to write outspokenly, and when his second book is censored, he enrages Castro by smuggling it to France for publication.

[plot spoiler?] We watch with horror as this brutal regime harasses, imprisons, and ultimately exiles Arenas to America for having `weak, nonrevolutionary (i.e., homosexual) genes.' He has dared to express beauty, and beauty, as a mentor notes, is the enemy of any dictatorship.

But Arenas' spirit is such that even in a medieval-style prison chamber, amidst the screams and cries, he finds that he has never written so much. He composes letters for the inmates, and when they reward him with cigarettes, he uses the rolling paper to pen his third novel, Before Night Falls.

Director/painter Julian Schnabel (BASQUIAT) has given us a film of many strengths, including the juxtaposition of the fertile natural world against Arenas' suffering at the hands of sadistic oppressors. The film opens with a pan through the treetops, sensually caresses the ocean tides, and when Arenas finally makes it to New York, rewards him with a magnificent baptism of snow falling gently on his face.

It's hard to play a writer. Most of us eschew Stallone-style emoting, and much of our work plays out in our heads and on the page--not the stuff of box office. But Spanish actor Javier Bardem delivers a phenomenal performance as Arenas, infusing him with depth, will and supreme sensitivity. And if you've yearned to see Sean Penn as a Cuban peasant and Johnny Depp in drag (called `Bon-Bon,' no less), here's your golden opportunity.

My wish list for this film would include a more understandable narrator and fewer unexplained incidents. This is another biopic that requires background reading to fully understand what's going on, especially after Arenas arrives in New York. I also would have loved hearing more of Arenas' voice. In the film's most successful passages, the narradore reads from his work, lines like `My grandmother was the only woman I've ever known who could pee standing up and talk to God at the same time.'

But all told, this memorable, `triumph of the human spirit' film, pulsing with Cubanismo, is well worth witnessing.

A truly Fantastic performance by Javier Bardem

[paulijcalderon · 8/10 · 1 September 2016]

A film with strong and powerful moments. The movie uses some documentary footage and exposition about the revolution in Cuba and the problems that people went through, but the real story is about a writer and his struggle to find peace and recognition.

It took some time for me to get invested. It bothered me a bit because the movie is narrated by the writer and you see his life since he was young. So, you would expect you to be invested right away. But, for me it took some time in first act getting in to the story because here and there stock footage would pop up and it would take me out of it. Once the main character ends up being accused for something he didn't do, the film picks up and his journey becomes riveting.

I like the vintage look of this film, the colors makes it feel like the film was made in the 60's and 70's. Johnny Depp is funny playing two roles, but the actor stealing the show is Javier Bardem who is fantastic in this performance. The movie does a good job in making you understand his motives and ambitions. Even though I didn't care much about his relations, you still understand the fact that it's just how he is personally and he doesn't try to force you to like him. He just appears like himself and doesn't try to be someone he isn't. Which makes the audience respect him.

The scenes in a prison were really hard hitting, especially when he is forced to be in a tiny, tiny cell. That most be horrifying, and Bardem completely made you believe what kind of a traumatic affect it would have on someone. Brilliantly made.

In short, a fantastic performance all the way through (especially towards the finale), but the film is a bit unbalanced and some of the most interesting parts of the story pass by too soon. It stays a little too long on the writer's romantic life in the beginning, and unfortunately that aspect wasn't as compelling as I think the filmmakers were hoping it would be. Everything about the writers escape and the prison scenes are however great and I would still recommend checking it out.

Javier Bardem shines in this biography of a Cuban writer.

[Diego_rjc · 7/10 · 20 January 2010]

This movie tells the story of Reinaldo Arenas, a homosexual Cuban writer and novelist that was chased during the communist period in Cuba. Only from this brief summary, you can see how powerful this life story is, and even though I haven't read the novel of the same name in which the movie is based on, it seems like the writers took full advantage of Reinaldo's story, going from his poor childhood in the Cuban countryside to his exile in the United States.

The main role here goes to Spanish-born actor Javier Bardem. The only movie with him that I've watched is No Country for Old Men, and though he is outstanding in that picture, he does a much better job here. His acting is absolutely perfect. In every scene he is (almost the whole movie), he steals your attention. He is Reinaldo Arenas in this picture, no question about it. He deserved every award he got. And he does that with a supporting cast that has names like Sean Penn (in a very tiny appearance), Johnny Deep (playing two roles), Brazilian-born director Hector Babenco (also a small role), Diego Luna and other unknown actors.

Julian Schnabel also does a very nice job directing. Even though a few of the shots reminded me a lot of Schnabel's latter The Diving Bell and the Butterfly, with very similar underwater sequences, shots of people in open cars, and open shots of the town and the woods, I appreciate his style. One shot in particular that is worth mentioning is the one in the beginning of the movie that comes out of the hole Reinaldo is playing and becomes an open shot of the small town. Beautiful work of directing. Another aspect that is worth mentioning is the photography. Both directors of photography do an excellent job, and the movie looks almost like a painting most of the time.

From all this I have mentioned, this movie would get a 9 rating. But a few things bothered me. First, the movie is quite boring and slow most of the time, because of the lousy editing by Michael Berenbaum. You could easily cut off 20 minutes of the film. And also there are too many childhood memories throughout the movie completely unnecessary. But what bothered me the most is the language issue. This movie suffers from the same problem as Elia Kazan's Viva Zapata. Both of them have great acting and directing, and all the character's speak in English, but they should be talking Spanish! If this is Cuba, you expect a Spanish-talking picture, but instead you get a few random lines in the correct language. I know this is made to attract north-American audiences, but they should be faithful to the story. Thankfully, Julian Schnabel doesn't make the same mistake in The Diving Bell and the Butterfly. There, they speak French in France!

Overral, this is a great film with outstanding acting and directing, but the language issue and the lousy editing keeps this movie alway from having a better rating. A must-see for Javier Bardem and Johnny Deep fans (the only time you can see him as a transsexual).

7,5 out of 10, that in this case goes back to a 7.

Dare I Say ...

[Theo Robertson · 5/10 · 23 August 2005]

... That this film will appeal far more to a gay audience than a mainstream one ?

BEFORE NIGHT FALLS follows the life story of Cuban poet Reinaldo Arenas who was a homosexual and thus was persecuted by Castro's regime . It's actually nice to see a movie pointing out that when it comes to homosexuality socialist regimes are no more tolerant than fascist ones or countries ruled by religious fundamentalists but the point about Reinaldo being oppressed by the state due to his sexual orientation seems hammered home too often where we see scenes of suspected homosexuals being rounded up . Toleterian regimes do not tolerate any type of art unless it's sanctioned by the party . Couldn't we have learned more about Reinaldo's poetry and how this was seen as a threat to the regime ? It would have probably made for a better story

Many people have praised the performance of Spanish actor Javier Bardem as Reinaldo . I've never heard of Bardem before seeing this movie and have no idea of how difficult it is for a Spanaird to play a Cuban but I'll take everyone's word that this is a great performance . I didn't even realise that Johnny Depp played two roles in this movie but I was swept away by his role as the interrogator , so much so that I forgot it was a famous Hollywood star acting and I can't fault the performances in the movie

But apart from the over emphasis on the homosexual aspects I do have a problem with the script and directing . The story is fairly episodic and disjointed and there's scenes that I didn't understand . For example Reinaldo just manages to walk out of prison which I found a bit too incredible to be taken seriously and while he's on the run he writes letters to the UN and International Red Cross - And leaves them hidden under stones ! So if a dissident is on the run in any country in the world if he leaves a message begging for help under a stone an international organisation will find it and take up his case . I didn't get that bit and there's a couple of other scenes like this which confused rather than involved me in the story

**** 1/2 Stunning

[Bil-3 · 27 March 2001]

Gorgeous adaptation of Reinaldo Arenas' best-selling autobiography of the same name. Javier Bardem gives a towering performance as Arenas, the famous Cuban poet who found himself constantly in a state of being unwanted by the world around him, and yet still full of the ability to see the beauty in it. Using stock footage of Castro's military-ruled Cuba, a haunting score by Carter Burwell (with Lou Reed and Laurie Anderson), and many cameos by famous actors (Sean Penn being the only one that really misfires, Michael Wincott being an exceptionally good one), director Julian Schanbel has created one of the most touching, affecting and polished film works of the whole year. Johnny Depp stands out in a small role dressed completely in drag (and he's gorgeous!)

Could have been a denunciation of criminalising homossexuality, but it is also a capitalist propaganda film

[guisreis · 6/10 · 18 May 2020]

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.

In my top ten of all time.

[The Love Dragon · 10/10 · 21 August 2001]

BEFORE NIGHT FALLS, directed by Julian Schnabel is the best movie made since SCHINDLER'S LIST, and just might surpass it.

There is hardly anything I would change about this movie, it is in my mind as perfect as they could have made it. The only thing that could have been better was going deeper into Bardem's character, but I don't think that they really needed to, because like in OUT OF AFRICA, the character is not gone into very deeply, but the performance of Meryl Streep, or in this case Javier Bardem makes you feel like you know Arenas. The tiniest nuance is played out beautifully by Bardem, who had to learn Cuban Spanish and English with a cuban accent as well as gain a lot of weight, and probably hours of thought put into his performance.

The writing is amazing, going from one event to the other, more about the author and what happens around him than an actual basic plotline. The music is terrific and well chosen, and Burwell's original score is the best original music in film history. The cinematography is innovative and excellent, audiences have seen few examples of the photography used in this film.

And to top it all off, Julian Schanbel does a perfect job of directing, showing Arenas's life with a beautiful new narrative technique, while at the same time showing the contrast of the Revolution and it's events and the beautiful Cuban country. As in the memoir by Arenas, the film is seen through Arenas's eyes, and it is like the whole world is gay, in a sense, and it's fabulous. I also love how when showing the documentary footage, and Bardem read excerpts of Arenas's writing, it was spoken in Spanish, being true to the author's work, while the beautiful Burwell music played.

Granted, this film is not for everyone, in fact I expect ninety percent of people to detest it, but to me, it is an amazing movie that is one of the few to get a ten out of ten from myself.

Absolutely fabulous, but if you like a basic, clear plotline with rising events, climactic end, action, and humour that comes out as jokes and not just funny situations and such, you won't like it. In fact, as I said, I expect most people reading this not to like it, but to me, it may be in my top five, should've won best picture.

A great role of Javier Bardem

[besherat · 7/10 · 27 June 2018]

I found this film on strange way. I want to watched some movie with Sean Penn and among his films, I find this one. But he appears in only one scene ,as Johny Deep too. Never mind, I saw a wonderful movie about the life of a Cuban writer Reinaldo Arenas, who suffered so much under the Fidel Castro's regime,because of his sexual orientation. A very strong film ,with a great performance of Javier Bardem,who did a great job indeed.

That Lonely Child of Always

[wes-connors · 8/10 · 5 October 2008]

Julian Schnabel's "Before Night Falls" initially impresses as an extraordinarily photographed film, by Xavier Perez Grobet and Guillermo Rosas; their use of color is especially beautiful. For someone unaware of the subject (as I was), the narrative is sometimes confusing. The film is a biography of Cuban poet Reinaldo Arenas (1943-1990), who is played by Javier Bardem. Mr. Bardem's characterization is about as convincing as they come; he gradually "paints" his role into your viewing consciousness. And, he carries the story through some rough waters. His performance is definitive "Best Actor" material.

Also, watch out for Sean Penn, under hat and make-up, as he gives young Reinaldo a lift, after the boy leaves home. Later on, during a prison sequence, Johnny Depp essays a couple of amazing characterizations, as "Bon Bon" and "Lieutenant Victor"; Mr. Depp's acting, and his decisions regarding his successful career, are quite admirable. Handsome Andrea Di Stefano (as Pepe) and handsome Oliver Martinez (as Lazaro) are among Bardem's "Best Supporting" boyfriends. In sum, Mr. Schnabel, Bardem, and the photographers deserve accolades for this good nightfall.

Additionally, investigate writer Reinaldo Arenas (as I did): "I am that child of always / Before the panorama of imminent terror / Imminent leprosy, imminent fleas / Of offenses and the imminent crime / I am that repulsive child that improvises a bed / Out of an old cardboard box and waits / Certain that you will accompany me…"

******** Before Night Falls (2000) Julian Schnabel ~ Javier Bardem, Oliver Martinez, Johnny Depp

Javier Bardem amazing

[SnoopyStyle · 7/10 · 7 May 2016]

This autobiographical movie follows the life of Cuban poet Reinaldo Arenas (Javier Bardem). It starts with his childhood in 1943. After the victory of the revolution, he gains friends and success as a young writer in Havana. It's heady days of a sexual revolution until his homosexuality is deemed dangerous. He tries to escape to America but is imprisoned. His writing gains some popularity outside of Cuba. In prison, he is surprisingly valued by the other prisoners for his writing skills. He writes his novel in between writing for everybody else. Bon Bon (Johnny Depp) is a transvestite inmate and Lt. Victor (Johnny Depp) is their vicious guard. Arenas becomes part of the boat lift exodus and arrives in New York.

Javier Bardem is simply amazing. His presence is incredible. The movie is a bit long. The early childhood has interesting stuff but is not strictly necessary. It could have started around 1960 after Castro marches into Havana. It could be a bit more interesting style-wise. Johnny Depp is a little weird and seems out of place. Through it all, there is the great performance from Javier Bardem.

A Lyrical Fight for Survival, without the Survival

[secondtake · 9/10 · 30 May 2009]

Before Night Falls (2000)

A Lyrical Fight for Survival, without the Survival

Filmed with such undistracting and unrelenting imagination, Before Night Falls is not only beautiful and seamless, it's a surprise, frame after frame. And it manages to keep flowing visually, with invention, without distracting from the personal plight of the central character, the writer Reinaldo Arenas. Add the full blooded performance by Javier Bardem, who is something of a one man show, and the movie is intrinsically special.

Julian Schnabel is turning out to be a better movie director than artist, maybe because his tendency toward formal invention made his art contrived while in the movie world this formalism is embedded with more evident meaning, and so it has something to support beyond its own effects. His subjects show a consistency that reveals an artistic devotion to himself, yes, as an auteur, or as a concerned person. Herzog might be another good example, offhand. From the flawed Basquiat to the compelling (and depressing) The Diving Bell and the Butterfly, Schnabel digs into those people who are pushed to be exceptional. All three of these films, at least, are about individuals with enormous talent and resolve, but they are all three also driven by circumstance to be even greater than themselves, or to make themselves into something beyond what even they expected. All of Schnabel's films are artfully made without being indulgent--even the exaggerated special effects used in Diving Bell are necessary.

And all three of these examples end in affecting, very personal tragedy. After the Lou Reed concert film diversion (which I haven't seen), it'll be worth watching what this relative newcomer to the movies brings out next.

Gay Writer born to write & to be gay repressed by the State: maybe hot movie, but bad politics

[palmiro · 6/10 · 26 June 2003]

It is indeed a sad truth that the Cuban state repressed gays for many years. And it is also true that that same state has repressed writers. But to make a movie about a gay writer in Cuba that focuses on the repression he has suffered at the hands of the state leads to a very distorted view of the reality of Cuban life and to a kind of cinema of martyrdom. This movie presents as "biographical fact" many things that are questionable, but since the film lurches between sudden splashes of wild fantasy followed by scenes of gritty Cuban state oppression, we are led to accept the latter as the "truth" and the former as just the creative whim of a gay writer. It's just as likely that Arenas was a mediocre talent who used every unpleasant encounter with the Cuban state to promote his work and his own self-apotheosis. What's true, as well as the harsh treatment Arenas received at the hands of the Cuban state, is that that country has been living in a state of siege for more than 40 years at the hands of the most powerful country on earth; that the state has responded in a heavy-handed way to perceived threats of subversion coming from outside but using local malcontents; and that Cuba is the only country in Latin America to have anything resembling a full-employment economy, universal health care, universal access to housing and free education for all at all levels, and universal literacy. (True, there's no repression of writers in Guatemala, but, hell, 50% of the population can't even read; and in the States there's no need to repress writers since it's a foregone conclusion from the outset that their ideas will have no significant impact on the course of events.)

An Outstanding Performance of Javier Bardem

[claudio_carvalho · 8/10 · 22 June 2003]

"Before Night Falls" is a good movie. However, the most important point to be highlighted is the outstanding performance of Javier Bardem, in the role of Reinaldo Arenas, a Cuban poet and writer. But unfortunately, the script and the direction were not in the same level of this great actor. The impression transmitted of Reinaldo Arenas in the movie is mostly of a gay artist, persecuted by a dictatorial regime not because of his ideas, but because of his behavior being gay. Even his death due to Aids is not clear in the movie. Maybe readers of this writer may find points in the script to be sympathetic with Reinaldo Arenas, but for an outsider of his biography and books, the plot does really show him as a homosexual writer persecuted by a dictatorial regime. The plan of the ideas is not emphasized in the movie. Javier Bardem deserved a better direction and script for such a performance! My vote is eight.

Title (Brazil): "Antes do Anoitecer" ("Before Night Falls")

Often muddled and un-followable

[Quinoa1984 · 6/10 · 4 March 2001]

While this biopic of Reinaldo Arenas has a good feel for the time period of Cuba years ago, and has a good performance by Javier Bordem in the lead (and a good couple of cameos by Johnny Depp), the film is also unfocused. When I think I have the story in check, it seems to be changing in a weird way. It has a lot of Arenas' poetry, however it seems misplaced when it comes, despite it being good. And one more question, who did Sean Penn play? I couldn't recognize him at all. B-

Before Night Falls fell apart.....

[rse · 2/10 · 28 March 2001]

I went to see this film because I am a big Javier Bardem fan. I am glad he has received international recognition but I wish it had been in a film that I could consider at least good. He has done much better work in much better films. I found this one tedious and boring with an uneven, undeveloped and fuzzy script. The characters were mostly "ghostly" in their development as was the situation. I left the movie thinking that the financial producers must have been a bunch of Miami Cubans set out to get as much anti-Castro propaganda out there as possible. Wholly unsatisfying and definitely not recommendable.