Before Night Falls (2000)

Director:

Julian Schnabel

Writers:

Cunningham O'Keefe (written by) &
Lázaro Gómez Carriles (written by) ...

Release Date:

26 January 2001 (USA)

Genre:

Biography | Drama

Plot:

Episodic look at the life of Cuban poet and novelist, Reinaldo Arenas (1943-1990), from his childhood...

Plot Keywords:

Novelist | Persecution | Letter | Cuba | Prison

Awards:

Nominated for Oscar. Another 11 wins & 15 nominations

Cast

Olatz López Garmendia	...	Reinaldo's Mother (as Olatz Lopez Garmendia)
Giovanni Florido	...	Young Reinaldo (as Giovani Florido)
Loló Navarro	...	Reinaldo's Grandmother
Sebastián Silva	...	Reinaldo's Father
Carmen Beato	...	Teacher
Cy Schnabel	...	Smallest School Child (as Cy)
Olmo Schnabel	...	Smallest School Child
Vito Maria Schnabel	...	Teenage Reinaldo
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
Eva Piaskowska	...	Pretty Blonde Student

Also Known As:

Antes que anochezca (USA: Spanish title)

MPAA:

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

Runtime:

133 min | South Korea:123 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English | Spanish | Russian | French

Colour:

Colour (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

New Zealand:R13 | Canada:14 (Nova Scotia) | Canada:14A (Alberta) | Canada:18A (British Columbia) | Canada:AA (Ontario) | Canada:PA (Manitoba) | UK:15 (cut) | Portugal:M/16 | Canada:14A (Ontario - 2006) | Finland:K-15 (2007) (self applied) (TV rating) | Finland:K-18 (2006) (self applied) (TV rating) | Argentina:16 | Australia:MA | Chile:18 | France:U | Peru:18 | Singapore:R(A) | Spain:13 | Sweden:11 | Switzerland:16 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:16 (canton of Vaud) | USA:R | South Korea:15 (cut)

Filming Locations:

New York, USA

Company:

El Mar Pictures

Trivia:

Almost every scene, according to Guillermo Rosas, was photographed with a chocolate-colored filter on the camera lens. The contributed a great deal to distinctive colors and textures in the film, especially the skin tones, and the vibrancy in green hues.

Quotes:

Reinaldo Arenas: Walking along streets that collapse from crumbling sewers. Past buildings that you jump to avoid because they will fall on you. Past grim faces that size you up and sentence you. Past closed shops, closed markets, closed cinemas, closed parks, closed cafes. Sometimes showing dusty signs, justifcations: "CLOSED FOR RENOVATION," "CLOSED FOR REPAIRS." What kind of repairs? When will these so-called renovations be finished? When at last will they begin? Closed...

Movie Connections:

Featured in The 2001 IFP/West Independent Spirit Awards (2001) (TV)

Soundtrack:

Aguirre, Der Zorn Gottes (Lacrime Di Re)

Beautiful and sad.

I would definitely recommend this movie to anyone. The graphic depictions of gay sexuality may offend some, and the romantic relationship between Reynaldo and Pepe is perhaps underexplored. But, the film makes some attempt to explain the sexual climate in Cuba at the time through Arenas' writing. The intense friendship between Reynaldo and his (straight) roommate Lazaro is as powerful and moving as any romance. The pace of the movie is not "slow," but poetic and thoughtful. Many movies featuring men with HIV/AIDS have been nothing more than "AIDS movies" and did little to humanize their main characters, or portray them as anything more than mere martyrs. But, _Before_Night_Falls_ is well-rounded and spares the viewer very little. Overall, this movie was intense.