Before Night Falls (2001)

Featured Audience Ratings

• William D

  
  What a magnificent film. Julian Schnabel pulled off a real tour de force with "Before Night Falls," his second film. Gloriously artistic and gloriously humane, it tells the tragic but also uplifting story of Cuba's boy genius, the poet and novelist Reinaldo Arenas, who… More
  What a magnificent film. Julian Schnabel pulled off a real tour de force with "Before Night Falls," his second film. Gloriously artistic and gloriously humane, it tells the tragic but also uplifting story of Cuba's boy genius, the poet and novelist Reinaldo Arenas, who was brutally mistreated by the bizarrely homophobic (one might even say proto-fascist) regime of Fidel Castro, heroically escaped, and then was mowed down by AIDS in the first wave of infections in the late 1980s. Schnabel and lead actor Javier Bardem worked together beautifully to bring this man's story to life. Bardem is radiant with the joy of a young gay man coming out of the closet and feeling love for the first time. I presume Bardem is straight. To see a straight man find it with himself to feel this is tonic for the soul. Schnabel I believe is also straight. For two straight men to come together to tell the story of this flamboyant gay man and to do it in such a tender and loving way truly amazes. Some straight men really can feel deep in their soul the anguish and gladness of gay men. Astonishing. The only sadness to me is that in the past decade Schnabel has not been able to produce more work of this caliber. But we still owe him a real debt of gratitude for giving us this treasure. And my appreciation for Bardem just keeps getting greater. He is moving near the top of my list of Greatest Male Screen Actors in the World. He's got Marlon Brando in him, mixed with a delight in the world that reminds me at times of a butterfly. What an extraordinary mixture. It's as if he's both straight and gay.

• Conner R

  
  When it comes to biopics, there are very few that stand out as masterpieces or true representations of the real-life counterparts. However, this manages to do just that. Javier Bardem’s interpretation of Reinaldo Arenas is amazing. To hear about the real life counterpart and then… More
  When it comes to biopics, there are very few that stand out as masterpieces or true representations of the real-life counterparts. However, this manages to do just that. Javier Bardem’s interpretation of Reinaldo Arenas is amazing. To hear about the real life counterpart and then compare it to the film, it’s very hard to tell the difference. The parts of his struggle as a writer and as a person are extremely touching and an original way of approaching a coming of age story (which this is in a lot of ways). The cinematography is amazing, giving Cuba such a beautiful landscape. All the little cameos from actors such as Sean Penn and Johnny Depp are a nice touch, you can tell that they were fans of Arenas and his writing. It’s just an all around great movie.

• Anthony L

  
  A beautiful film with a strong message, Julian Schnabel is a great film maker and Javier Bardem is brilliant as Reinaldo Arenas! This is a warning from the past and should be on the curriculum!

• Elvira B

  
  The narrative style is captivating, Julien Schnabel doesn't shy from showing the virtues and the vices of Reinaldo Arenas's literary circle. Arenas, a Cuban poet, confronts the Revolution he once believed in when persecution against homosexuals in Cuba becomes blatant. In a… More
  The narrative style is captivating, Julien Schnabel doesn't shy from showing the virtues and the vices of Reinaldo Arenas's literary circle. Arenas, a Cuban poet, confronts the Revolution he once believed in when persecution against homosexuals in Cuba becomes blatant. In a very Schnabel fashion, we find a character struggling to remain human in the midst of de-humanization, crisis, and humilliation. And not just any character, a poet. There is always the notion that tragedy and comedy, fun and pain, are inseparable and his life is irrefutable testament to it. Javier Bardem's performance is very powerful, sefless, and beautiful. There are appearances by other actors, more famous than he was at the time, but this is clearly his film.

• Lady D

  
  Quite a difficult one to rate, as the acting was superb, whilst the film was long and drawn out. Great narration throughout by Javier Bardem, which worked well and he, as always was very impressive. The story of Reinaldo Arenas? life is certainly an interesting one, but the film… More
  Quite a difficult one to rate, as the acting was superb, whilst the film was long and drawn out. Great narration throughout by Javier Bardem, which worked well and he, as always was very impressive. The story of Reinaldo Arenas? life is certainly an interesting one, but the film does take some perseverance. A very small role here for Johnny Depp and an even smaller (almost unrecognisable) role for Sean Penn.

• Tsubaki S

  
  The kind of film you watch to remember why Bardem is a great actor. Also, probably the last good film that Johnny Depp made.

• Stephen M

  
  The trouble with biopics of literary figures is that their art is almost impossible to convey cinematically, since a film is not made of words. Though it's not immune from this limitation, the highest compliment I can pay "Before Night Falls" is that it offers enough… More
  The trouble with biopics of literary figures is that their art is almost impossible to convey cinematically, since a film is not made of words. Though it's not immune from this limitation, the highest compliment I can pay "Before Night Falls" is that it offers enough tantalising glimpses of (Cuban poet and novelist) Reinaldo Arenas' talent to prompt further investigation of the man's work. Persecuted by Castro's regime for his homosexuality, which was seen as a decadent vestige of the capitalist past, the onetime pro-revolutionary writer fled to the US and later succumbed to AIDS. Unfortunately, the episodic, choppy structure of the narrative means that significant characters drift in, out and back in again without ever being satisfactorily etched on ones short-term memory. Javier Bardem is magnificent, though, somehow managing to suppress his typically dominant physical presence to play the vulnerable Arenas. Look out for cameos from Sean Penn and Johnny Depp, the latter playing two small roles: a transvestite and a sadistic prison warder who looks like Ned Flanders.

• Fernando Rafael Q

  
  Although, during the first 45 minutes, Julian Schnabel's BEFORE NIGHT FALLS looks just like a movie about being gay and boning every guy that comes your way, it develops into a heartbreaking drama about the troubled life of REINALDO ARENAS, a Cuban writer in the times of the… More
  Although, during the first 45 minutes, Julian Schnabel's BEFORE NIGHT FALLS looks just like a movie about being gay and boning every guy that comes your way, it develops into a heartbreaking drama about the troubled life of REINALDO ARENAS, a Cuban writer in the times of the Revolution and Fidel Castro. Beautifully shot and directed. It was filmed in Mexico and there are cameos by some of its most famous actors: Diego Luna, Ofelia Medina, Patricia Reyes Spíndola and Francisco Gattorno (he's not mexican though). There are also special appearances by two of the best actors in the world: Sean Penn and Johnny Depp (their performances are not as good as they always are, but they're nice anyway). Subtle performance by Olivier Martinez. But this is Javier Bardem's movie, and he gives an extraordinary portrayal of the cuban writer, virtually appearing in the whole movie, he even scored an Oscar nomination!

• jay n

  
  Very worthwhile but hard to watch.

• Nicolas K

  
  Yet another masterful performance by Bardem in an emotionally penetrating film about the famous Cuban poet and novelist, Reinaldo Arenas .

• Alec B

  
  It is a beautifully filmed movie. Director Julian Schnabel makes this bio pic have an odd dream like quality that is unique in films. It's disjointed but that never seems to be a problem. My complaint is that the film isn't able to maintain the incredible energy that is has… More
  It is a beautifully filmed movie. Director Julian Schnabel makes this bio pic have an odd dream like quality that is unique in films. It's disjointed but that never seems to be a problem. My complaint is that the film isn't able to maintain the incredible energy that is has from start to finish. The last twenty minutes drag incredibly and may not have been necessary. Javier Bardem is excellent and is performance is nicely understated. Good too is Sean Penn (in a cameo role) and Johnny Depp (in a dual role as a prison warden and transvestite prisoner). I didn't really know who Reinaldo Arenas was, but now I would very much like to read his books because they sound very interesting.

• William G

  
  Bardem's performance raises biopic over familiar episodic nature.

• MJS M

  
  Julian Schnabel?s second film, Before Night Falls is the story of the openly gay Cuban novelist Reinaldo Arenas. Arenas faced horrible persecution despite his whole life; it?s a story worth telling but this movie screws up in a critical way: it has no idea how to handle the… More
  Julian Schnabel?s second film, Before Night Falls is the story of the openly gay Cuban novelist Reinaldo Arenas. Arenas faced horrible persecution despite his whole life; it?s a story worth telling but this movie screws up in a critical way: it has no idea how to handle the character?s use of language. I think the director wanted the film to be in the character?s original Spanish, but the producers wanted it to be in English; it seems like the solution they settled on was to have half the film in English, but to randomly have it switch to subtitled Spanish with no rhyme or reason every once in a while, what?s worse, everyone speaking English does so in Cuban accents that are really thick and hard to understand. They should have either had the whole movie in subtitled Spanish or they should have had the whole thing in accent-neutral English, the compromise they choose meant it was neither easy to watch or authentic, it?s the worst of both worlds. Schnabel clearly seems to have realized he made a mistake, because he went to great lengths to film his next film, The Diving Bell and Butterfly, in setting appropriate French the whole way through. That major peeve aside this is all right, Javier Bardem gives a great performance and the story is powerful.

• Patrick D

  
  You can't fault this film. It's really well made. Schanbel is quite a director and the gritty realistic look and great shots can only be praised. Javier Bardem plays the part really well also. The problem I have with this film, and I feel bad saying this because it's… More
  You can't fault this film. It's really well made. Schanbel is quite a director and the gritty realistic look and great shots can only be praised. Javier Bardem plays the part really well also. The problem I have with this film, and I feel bad saying this because it's based on a real story, but the stucture of the film is pretty much the exact same as everyother bio-pic I've ever seen, and although that caters to alot of people's perception of a great film, it's a tired sub-genre, that really lacks originality.

• Ina S

  
  I am still undecided what to make of this film. Javier Bardem is superb, he is starting to be my favourite actor. The cinematography is also stunningly good, some scenes are very intense and touching. But I didn't care for the way the story was put together, the whole narrative… More
  I am still undecided what to make of this film. Javier Bardem is superb, he is starting to be my favourite actor. The cinematography is also stunningly good, some scenes are very intense and touching. But I didn't care for the way the story was put together, the whole narrative concept seemes too pretentious to me, I didn't care for some of the choices Schnabel made. If this were shot by a different director, I would probably have enjoyed it more. It was hard to get into the story emotionally. I do give this a very tentative 4 stars because of Bardem's breathtaking performance, but this film has huge weaknesses.

• Linda K

  
  Beautiful film and amazing acting from Javier Bardem and the absolute gorgeous Johnny Depp as always.

• Ashton R

  
  I basically watched this movie for the sole reason of seeing Johnny Depp in drag (and it was worth it too) but it actually turned out to be quite a poignant and very touching film. The acting was amazing, especially Javier Bardem, who was totally convincing and utterly superb as… More
  I basically watched this movie for the sole reason of seeing Johnny Depp in drag (and it was worth it too) but it actually turned out to be quite a poignant and very touching film. The acting was amazing, especially Javier Bardem, who was totally convincing and utterly superb as Reinaldo Arenas. It was sometimes hard to wach the struggle that Arens went through as a writer and a homosexual in Castro controlled Cuba, but it gave the film that extra dash of realism that made it great. The bits of the actual Arenas' writing read aloud by Bardem was a nice touch as well.

Read all 17 featured audience ratings