Before Night Falls (2000)

The life of Cuban poet and novelist, Reinaldo Arenas.

Director:

Julian Schnabel

Writers:

Cunningham O'Keefe, Lázaro Gómez Carriles (as Lazaro Gomez Carriles)

Stars:

Javier Bardem, Johnny Depp, Olatz López Garmendia

Nominated for 1 Oscar. Another 15 wins & 22 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Olatz López Garmendia	...	Reinaldo's Mother (as Olatz Lopez Garmendia)
Giovani Florido	...	Young Reinaldo
Loló Navarro	...	Reinaldo's Grandmother
Batan Silva	...	Reinaldo's Father (as Sebastián Silva)
Carmen Beato	...	Teacher
Cy Schnabel	...	Smallest School Child (as Cy)
Olmo Schnabel	...	Smallest School Child
Vito Schnabel	...	Teenage Reinaldo (as Vito Maria Schnabel)
Pedro Armendáriz Jr.	...	Reinaldo's Grandfather (as Pedro Armendáriz)
Diego Luna	...	Carlos
Lia Chapman	...	Lolin
Sean Penn	...	Cuco Sanchez
Jerzy Skolimowski	...	Professor
Aquiles Benites	...	Translator
Ewa Piaskowska	...	Pretty Blonde Student

Storyline

Episodic look at the life of Cuban poet and novelist, Reinaldo Arenas (1943-1990), from his childhood in Oriente province to his death in New York City. He joins Castro's rebels. By 1964, he is in Havana. He meets the wealthy Pepe, an early lover; a love-hate relationship lasts for years. Openly gay behavior is a way to spite the government. His writing and homosexuality get him into trouble: he spends two years in prison, writing letters for other inmates and smuggling out a novel. He befriends Lázaro Gomes Garriles, with whom he lives stateless and in poverty in Manhattan after leaving Cuba in the Mariel boat-lift. When asked why he writes, he replies cheerfully, "Revenge."

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Plot Keywords:

poet | novelist | gay | homosexual | cuba | 

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Genres:

Biography | Drama | Romance

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for strong sexual content, some language and brief violence

Details

Official Sites:

New Line

Country:

USA

Language:

English Spanish Russian French

Release Date:

23 February 2001 (USA)

Also Known As:

Antes que anochezca

Filming Locations:

Mexico

Box Office

Opening Weekend USA:

$85,230, 25 December 2000

Gross USA:

$4,242,892

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$8,601,053

Company Credits

Production Co:

El Mar Pictures, Grandview Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

133 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Olivier Martinez's first English-speaking role. Marlon Brando and Al Pacino were offered the role of great Cuban man of letters Lezama Lima. The part was finally played by a friend of Julian Schnabel, who was the Global Art Executive of the David Rockefeller-founded Chase Bank Art Collection.

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Quotes

Reinaldo Arenas: [narrating] Leonardo da Vinci was homosexual, so was Michelangelo, Socrates, Shakespeare, and almost every other figure that has formed what we have come to understand as beauty.

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Alternate Versions

The UK version is cut by 18 secs to remove a shot of a live bird caught in a noose.

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Connections

Featured in At the Movies: Cast Away/What Women Want/Finding Forrester/Traffic/All the Pretty Horses/Before Night Falls (2000)

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Soundtracks

Ay Mariposa
Written by Pedro Luis Ferrer
Performed by Pedro Luis Ferrer
Published by Termidor Music Publishers Ltd.

User Reviews

Slow but beautiful

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.