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Before Night Falls Customer Reviews (10 - 12 of 25 Reviews)

One of the better gay movies with a plot
This movie is a lot better than persay Billy Elliot or Big Eden. Only because it is actually a gay movie and the plot isnt hidden along the way. The movie does has a lot of gay action in it which i like to see in a gay movie that is the reason why i rented it. On top of that johnny Depp is in this movie in two different characters one of a Drag Queen and the other an officer. When hes an officer hes groping himself which was pretty hot. The movie also had great direction and it was just easy to get involved into. I liked it a lot.

Serious, twisted, sad and brutal -- too long and too artsy
This film is based on the life of Reinaldo Arenas, a Cuban poet and novelist who was persecuted by Castro's government because he was an artist and because he was a homosexual. Directed by Julian Schnabel and starring the Spanish actor Javier Bardem with two small cameo roles by Johnny Depp, this film has won many awards. It's serious, twisted, sad and brutal. And it's also very honest, especially in its depiction of the gay life style.

The acting is good and so is the cinematography but I found it was much too episodic and the dream sequences confusing. Also, I wish the director had made up his mind whether to film it in Spanish or English. There are parts that are in Spanish and the sub-titles were easy to read, but most of it is played in heavily accented English which was so difficult to understand that I had to re-play several sections over and over again on my VCR until I could understand the dialog. Also, at 133 minutes, it was much too long and I found myself losing interest and falling asleep.

The best part of the film was the archival footage of the coming to power of the Castro regime and the director did an excellent job of depicting the realities of Cuba during the 1960s and 70s. But frankly, I would have preferred a documentary instead of some of the staged scenes, which were played for shock value. It also tried too hard to be a work of art in itself. Not recommended. I just simply did not like it.

Haunting, beautiful, and candid.
Before Night Falls was one of the few bright spots in an otherwise dismal year for movies in 2000. Javier Bardem gives a heartbreaking performance as Reinaldo Arenas, an aspiring poet who grows up in Cuba--only to be tortured and condemned for his homosexuality by the very dictatorship he was raised to embrace. When he gets caught for smuggling his printed work overseas, he is arrested, tried, and jailed. He ultimately escapes, flees to New York City with his lover. Revealing more would be unkind, but do have your tissues ready for the ending: it's one of the most powerful scenes I've witnessed. In addition to the film, the DVD also has a short interview with the real life Reinaldo Arenas. If you haven't seen the movie, rent it. If you've already seen it, then by all means buy this DVD. You can thank me later.

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