Avant la nuit

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!)

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.

People's revolutions begin with the best of intentions, such as removing unjust rulers, but often have an unfortunate tendency to go awry, exchanging one dictator for another. Cuba is an excellent example of this axiom: in 1959, a small band of revolutionaries led by a young lawyer named Fidel Castro ousted Fulgencio Batista, the US backed dictator. Castro would have been welcomed with open arms by the US, had he not embarked on a campaign of nationalization, which led to Cuba's regional isolation and eventual alliance with the Soviet Union. In keeping with communist doctrine, Castro the liberator became Castro the jailer and began purging the freethinkers and anyone who was "different". If you happened to be a gay author and poet, yours was a dismal future indeed.

Reinaldo Arenas grew up poor and free, enjoying the liberation that only a child of the land can experience. His carefree world was shattered when a teacher discovered the boy's artistic bent, and communicated this to Reinaldo's grandfather. His reaction was to banish the boy and run away to the city. Undaunted, Reinaldo continued to nourish his talents and in the newfound post-revolution euphoria explored his sexuality. His ideas and sexual persuasion soon attracted the unwanted attention of an increasingly repressive regime, which would ultimately lead to his internment, re-education and exile.

For the second time in as many months, I find myself having a hard time reviewing a movie. According to the trade journals, "Before Night Falls" made fifty film critics' top ten lists (not a difficult feat given the dearth of decent films in 2000), has won numerous awards and is "one of the best films ever made". In light of these rave reviews, I keep asking myself one question - "Did I miss something?"

Spanish actor Javier Bardem ("Jamon Jamon") who infuses his portrayal with the appropriate emotional sensitivity and resolve brings Arenas to life. For Arenas, being forbidden to write was akin to being forbidden to breathe, he could not and would not cease his writing, even if it meant imprisonment and torture in a Cuban gulag. Like his passion for writingis sexuality, it was again not a matter of choice, which Bardem makes very clear. Johnny Depp adds another interesting character, or more appropriately characters, to his pantheon of performances in a dual role as a talented transvestite and a brutal military commander. His characters emphasize the duality of relationships in police states, where your best friend may be an informant and you trust no one (as many horrified East Germans discovered in post-wall Germany). Equally impressive was Andrea Di Stefano as Pepe, Reinaldo's part-time lover and all around bad influence. The technical aspects of the film are more ambiguous. Director Julian Schnabel's decision to splice in grainy film footage from post revolutionary Cuba was as bold as it was ingenious. The scenes, which contain little dialogue, contribute a tangible realism to the film, and convey the initial jubilation and eventual stifling repression of the newly "liberated" country. Music is also used very effectively to establish mood, with some surprising non-Latin choices- Lou Reed's "Rouge" substitutes for dialogue in a nightclub scene, and speaks more about betrayal than any words could. I do however, have several reservations about the film.

At times, the direction and editing is erratic. This in turn disrupts the continuity of the film and makes several scenes difficult to follow. For example, while I realize that the film is about an author and poet, the inclusion of his poems is done haphazardly and serves little purpose. More importantly, while the poems are read in Spanish, the bulk of the dialogue is in English. This wouldn't normally be a concern, except that, several of the cast members have very thick accents and do not speak English well. It would have made more sense to have Spanish dialogue throughout and use English subtitles. As it was, I regularly had to strain to understand portions of dialogue and almost missed several key elements.

Schnabel's film paints a beautiful and sometimes-ugly picture of one man's constant struggle against state-sponsored repression and discrimination. The story is especially poignant when you remember that events unfolding before you are true. In spite of excellent performances, and interesting direction choices, the directing is also inconsistent at times and several poor editing choices cause the film to drag in places. "Before Night Falls" is a very good film that should have been great.

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.

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.