The life of Reinaldo Arenas, an exiled Cuban homosexual writer, is chronicled in an adaptation of his memoir BEFORE NIGHT FALLS, directed by Julian Schnabel (BASQUIAT). Javier... more
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Before Night Falls [2001]
Based on the posthumously published memoir by Cuban poet Reinaldo Arenas, Before Night
... more
Falls is artist-director Julian Schnabel's second exercise in artist biography, but where Schnabel's earlier film Basquiat was relatively conventional, this film is ...
Before Night Falls [2001]
Based on the posthumously published memoir by Cuban poet Reinaldo Arenas, Before Night
... more
Falls is artist-director Julian Schnabel's second exercise in artist biography, but where Schnabel's earlier film Basquiat was relatively conventional, this film is ...
Before Night Falls [2001]
Based on the posthumously published memoir by Cuban poet Reinaldo Arenas, Before Night
... more
Falls is artist-director Julian Schnabel's second exercise in artist biography, but where Schnabel's earlier film Basquiat was relatively conventional, this film is bolder in both style and execution. Schnabel is perhaps too enamoured of his subject as a noble martyr, lending the film a somewhat inflated sense of importance. Still, it's rare to see an artist's life and work so elegantly interwoven, and Before Night Falls uses all of Arenas's life as its canvas, from impoverished youth to lively gay freedom in mid-1950's Cuba; imprisonment during Castro's antigay regime; and to New York City in 1980, followed by Arenas's battle with AIDS and subsequent suicide (depicted here as assisted) in 1990. Through these extreme rises and falls, Arenas is always writing; his typewriter his most faithful lover and weapon (by way of smuggled manuscripts) against the dark forces that surround him. As Time magazine's Richard Corliss wrote, Arenas is "a serious actor's dream role: to be a gay Jesus in a modern Passion Play," and Javier Bardem--the first Spanish actor to receive an Oscar nomination--inhabits the role with subtle ferocity, charting this emotional odyssey with outer reserve but blazing infernos of internal passion. While Schnabel suffers from a hyperactive camera, there's poetry here--visual, dramatic, and literal--and vibrant humour to temper the deep tragedy of Arenas's life. Schnabel also uses his actor friends to good advantage: a nearly unrecognizable Sean Penn adds an ironic touch to his brief appearance as a peasant, and Johnny Depp is both funny and fearsome in dual roles as a drag queen and vicious army interrogator. --Jeff Shannon
Before Night Falls [2001]
Based on the posthumously published memoir by Cuban poet Reinaldo Arenas, Before Night
... more
Falls is artist-director Julian Schnabel's second exercise in artist biography, but where Schnabel's earlier film Basquiat was relatively conventional, this film is bolder in both style and execution. Schnabel is perhaps too enamoured of his subject as a noble martyr, lending the film a somewhat inflated sense of importance. Still, it's rare to see an artist's life and work so elegantly interwoven, and Before Night Falls uses all of Arenas's life as its canvas, from impoverished youth to lively gay freedom in mid-1950's Cuba; imprisonment during Castro's antigay regime; and to New York City in 1980, followed by Arenas's battle with AIDS and subsequent suicide (depicted here as assisted) in 1990. Through these extreme rises and falls, Arenas is always writing; his typewriter his most faithful lover and weapon (by way of smuggled manuscripts) against the dark forces that surround him. As Time magazine's Richard Corliss wrote, Arenas is "a serious actor's dream role: to be a gay Jesus in a modern Passion Play," and Javier Bardem--the first Spanish actor to receive an Oscar nomination--inhabits the role with subtle ferocity, charting this emotional odyssey with outer reserve but blazing infernos of internal passion. While Schnabel suffers from a hyperactive camera, there's poetry here--visual, dramatic, and literal--and vibrant humour to temper the deep tragedy of Arenas's life. Schnabel also uses his actor friends to good advantage: a nearly unrecognizable Sean Penn adds an ironic touch to his brief appearance as a peasant, and Johnny Depp is both funny and fearsome in dual roles as a drag queen and vicious army interrogator. --Jeff Shannon
adolescence as a rebel fighting for Fidel Castro, and his life in revolutionary Cuba as a homosexual. Very quickly the Castro government suppressed his writing and persecuted him for his homosexuality until he was finally imprisoned. Arenas eventually took flight from Cuba via the Mariel boat lift and settled in New York. Unable to really reconcile himself to life in America away from the beloved country of his birth, Arenas committed suicide in 1990 at the age of 47, already dying from AIDS. Retail Price £8.99, you save 43%. Browns Books - selling books online since 1999 softcover
clean, complete, not falling apart; some light wear. A perfectly good reading or reference copy. Same-day despatch, 6 days a week / Proper packaging / Orders processed until 4.30 pm / New stock added daily /.
Advantages: Amazing Disadvantages: not good if your homophobic.
'Before Night Falls' is an absolutely and utterly gorgeous film. It is a biography of Reinaldo Arenas - a gay Cuban novelist and charts his life. It began in poverty in rural Cuba, leading into the Cuban revolution. The film is well produced, acting is of a good standard and the story has to be believed - the pain of him having first been so supportive of the revolution which eventually led to him having to leave his country to escape persecution.
... ...equality, and it's lacking and how this affected his life are still just as real today. As is the general impression of how revolutions can turn so sour, oppressing those who originally supported them.
This film represents everything I love and everything that I hate and it does so with remarkable ease.
I would recommend this film to anyone who has the chance to see it, unfortunately most cinemas won't show it as it's a small, 'alternative' production.
...
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Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful
Advantages: Portrayal of the Cuban revolution Disadvantages: Alot of quick changes from scene to scene
...combined to create this - Before Night Falls!
A tremendous film with great variation of the portrayal of homosexuals.
Usually in films and TV you have a stereotypical homosexual, for example in the TV series Will and Grace, however this is something that sets your heart out for these people. I really enjoyed the film and couldn't quite grasp why!
If you are thinking about buying this film because it says Johnny Depp in the casting, don't buy it ... ...huge in it which is disappointing but he does play two parts which is interesting on how different he can be made to look.
However, what is represented in the film is a mixture of love, politics, history and humour. Some scenes are quite violent and some involve gay sex but overall the film is an enjoyable piece that I would recommend. It is a quirky tale of one man with a dream of poetry and literature that is broken by the revolution and accusations ...
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Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful
Actor(s): Javier Bardem, Olivier Martinez, Andrea Di Stefano, Sean Penn, Johnny Depp, Najwa Nimri, Michael Wincott, Hector Babenco, Vito Schnabel
Director(s): Julian Schnabel
Genre: Drama
Classification: 15 years and over
Production Year: 2000
Running Time: 2 hours 8 minutes
Video Category: Feature Film
Plot: A dramatisation of the life and work of one of Cuba's most famous writers, Reinaldo Arenas. The story starts with his poverty stricken childhood through to his exile from Cuba.
Release details
DVD Region: Region 2 (Europe)
Studio(s): 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment; Deluxe Video Service - Fox
Release date: 05/08/2002
No of Discs: 1
Catalogue No: 22338 DVD
Barcode: 5039036008822
Languages
Main Language: English
Hearing Impaired Language: English
DVD Description
The life of Reinaldo Arenas, an exiled Cuban homosexual writer, is chronicled in an adaptation of his memoir BEFORE NIGHT FALLS, directed by Julian Schnabel (BASQUIAT). Javier Bardem (in an Oscar-nominated performance) portrays Arenas as he journeys from poverty to university to the sexual revolution and homosexual subculture in Havana to persecution and imprisonment under the policies of Fidel Castro for being both gay and a writer. Despite the harsh conditions of prison, the courageous Arenas continued not only to write but also to publish his works abroad. Ultimately, he was allowed to leave Cuba for America, but there he faced new struggles as a man without a country battling AIDS. Schnabel's beautifully filmed sophomore directorial effort captures the essence of Cuba during the revolution. Johnny Depp is featured in the dual supporting roles of the cross-dressing prison inmate, Bon Bon, and the brutal officer, Lieutenant Victor. A well-disguised Sean Penn appears as Cuco Sanchez. Olivier Martinez as Lazaro Gomez Carillo and Andrea Di Stefano as Pepe Malas deliver standout performances. The film received accolades at the 2000 Venice and Toronto Film Festivals.
Technical information
Special Features: Interactive Menus, Scene Access
Aspect Ratio: 1.85 Wide Screen, 16:9 Wide Screen
Sound: Dolby Digital 5.1
Dubbing Sound: Dolby Digital 5.1 English
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Listed on Ciao since : 16/07/2001
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