Armand it is special. for Bardem performance. for dark Depp character. for the story about a writer and his stain cage. but, more important, for universal message. because it is not a film about a man in search of freedom. but picture of a world. our world. fragile, cruel, almost crazy. about prejudges as rules and law. about forms of fall in crime womb. about solitude of a poet who becomes victim of others fear. about a land who may be Cuba or each other country of steel oppression. so, the lines of Arenas sounds more than pieces of good poetry.but like windows to delicate manner to discover and present life. as trips in heart of essence of each existence. it is not a gay movie. only frame for a lot of questions, for a profound answer.

gradyharp Visual artist Julian Schnabel was the perfect choice for bringing to the screen the richly colorful life and times of Cuban poet and novelist Reinaldo Arenas (1943-1990). BEFORE NIGHT FALLS began as a book, Arenas' memoir, translated and released in 1993: time has aged the eloquence of this memoir but has not marred the impact of the brilliance of the writing. Arenas wrote with a degree of truth and keen observation that makes his moments of antics with his characters like comic relief in a Shakespearean play. The screenplay was written by Lázaro Gómez Carriles, Cunningham O'Keefe and Julian Schnabel who with great homage to Arenas made his life as narrated by Arenas, in an inextricable mix of his memories, dreams, nightmares and pure fiction. He grew up as poor, naked illegitimate child, joined Castro's Cuban revolution and became an intellectual, employed in the public library. After discovering his gay sexuality, he soon shares in the regime's inconsistent persecution. His work and life become dominated by the mix of temptation, fear, betrayal and man hunting in both senses. Finally he makes it to Manhattan, only to get caught in another trap for which there is only one tragic escape in the end - his death from AIDS.Arenas had a gift of distilling Magical Realism, transforming even the radical ugliness of Castro's Cuba into the topical paradise so beloved by Cubans everywhere. This cinematic version lets the viewer experience that rich literary output of one of the most exciting writers of the last century. For example, '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 cafés. Sometimes showing dusty signs, justifications: "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... closed... closed... everything closed. I arrive, open the countless padlocks and run up the temporary stairs. There she is, waiting for me. I pull off the cover, and stare at her dusty, cold shape I clean of the dust and caress her. With my hand, delicately, I wipe clean her back, her base and her sides. In front of her, I feel desperate and happy. I run my fingers over her keyboard and suddenly it all starts up. With a tinkling sound the music begins, little by little, then faster; now full speed. Walls, trees, streets, cathedrals, faces and beaches. Cells, mini- cells, huge cells. Starry nights, bare feet, pines, clouds. Hundreds, thousands, millions of parrots. A stool, a climbing plant, they all answer my call, all come to me. The walls recede, the roof vanishes, and you float quite naturally. You float uprooted, dragged off, lifted high. Transported, immortalized, saved. Thanks to that subtle, continuous rhythm, that music, that incessant tap-tap.'Javier Bardem completely inhabits the poet that was Arenas - a performance so delicately nuanced that it remains one of the great moments in cinema. He is ably supported by Olivier Martinez as Lázaro Gómez Carriles, and incidental roles by Johnny Depp, Sean Penn, Diego Luna, Jerzy Skolimowski, Hector Babenco and a host of other fine actors. This is one of those films that remains a standard of the industry and certainly Javier Bardem will never be forgotten for his inhabiting the essence of what made Reinaldo Arenas a great writer. Highly Recommended. Grady Harp

ajackaln Watching this movie is like slow death ! I mean it ! The story goes on very slowly and it shows nothing special. The story is about a gay Cuban novelist who is being arrested by the regime of Castro. Yes I get it and totally agree that such like can be tough and a person who lives that life can be a hero, yeah yeah yeah , I get it OK ? But not all real stories or lives are suitable for the silver screen. I'm a broadcasting and film making student so I know exactly what should be look at when one start writing a script or even more basic a storyline! The first thing and the basic thing that the writer should ask himself is that , would the audience watch this ? Would this movie be important for the audience to watch ? This is in fact the first question that audience would ask themselves before or after watching the movie , " What is there for me or What was there for me " ? Honestly , this movie has nothing to offer the audience. The story is painfully slow and boring. Very few interesting things happen , there's no climax in the story and even worse the audience are not given enough details about the character to sympathize with them or even connect with them.Overall , a terrible movie , I give it 1 out of 10. you think I'm being nasty ? well , here's a fact , this movie made only 4 million dollars at the box office , which we all know in Hollywood is a big JOKE! I'm not nasty now , am I ? Make good movies , you get good reviews !

evanston_dad It wasn't until "The Diving Bell and the Butterfly" that I warmed to the work of Julian Schnabel. Before that there was "Basquiat," which I actively disliked, and then there was "Before Night Falls," which I didn't dislike exactly, but which I also didn't exactly enjoy.No complaints about the performance of Javier Bardem, before anyone knew who he was, as Cuban poet Reinaldo Arenas. But the film plays out as so many other biopics do, and it's pretty bleakly depressing by the time it's over. The final scenes, as we watch Arenas slowly disintegrate due to AIDS, are especially tough.You might need to be a fan either of Schnabel the director or Arenas the poet to fully appreciate this movie. It wouldn't surprise me if everyone else felt somewhat left out in the cold by it.Grade: B-