Director Julian Schnabel is a well-known "neo-expressionist" painter; accordingly, he is able to bring an artist's understanding and sensibility to the story. His prior film was "Basquiat," about the 1980's graffiti artist. Although Schnabel seems to be limiting himself to portraits of artists, the two films are very disparate. Specifically, "Before Night Falls" is much grander in scope and incorporates more directorial flourishes than does "Basquiat." Despite the epic sweep of the film, Schnabel successfully tells Arenas' very personal and heart-rending story. Another major asset of the film is the cinematography and ambiance; vibrant colors and people populate the film. The viewer is transported to 1960s Cuba; you can feel the humidity and the pulse of the Mambo music.

Javier Bardem gives an astonishing performance, for which he deservedly received Oscar and Golden Globe nominations for Best Actor. For the role, he was required to learn Cuban-Spanish as well as English. The DVD extras include a 7 minute interview with Arenas, and it's apparent that Bardem nails the look and speech of the artist, without reverting to a simple impersonation. Although most of the actors are of Latin descent, two big American stars have small roles: Johnny Depp has hilarious joint roles as a Cuban transvestite and a Cuban general, and Sean Penn plays a peasant farmer, rather convincingly too. The only minor debit of the film is that it's a tad over-long and could have used a bit more editing. However, overall, "Before Night Falls" is a superb film that perfectly captures another time and another place. Most highly recommended.

Extras: The extras include an interesting commentary track with Schnabel and Bardem, a short behind-the-scenes documentary filmed by Schnabel's daughter, and an interview with Arenas conducted in 1984 after he immigrated to the U.S.


Renaldo Arenas   April 7, 2004
 14 out of 15 found this review helpful

Before Night Falls is a brilliant portrayal into to the life of cuban writer Renaldo Arenas. The movie is so powerful that after watching it it plays on your mind.

Javier Bardem is absolutely awesome in his role as Renaldo, words cannot describe his performance in the movie.
I think that this is probably one of my favourite films.
It was nice to see Sean Penn and Johnny Depp was terrific as a drag queen. Johnny makes a georgeous lady when all dressed up.

Overall the movie is fantastic and is it really makes you think about how cruel life can be.


Before Night Falls   September 25, 2003
 8 out of 12 found this review helpful

Loved the book but its the same old story the book is never like the movie. Loads from the book left out but still a deep disturbing film, well acted and filmed.


A bit too long..........   August 26, 2003
 4 out of 14 found this review helpful

Ever since I saw edward scissorhands and sleepy hollow i realised who brilliant of an actor and Johnny Depp is and i soon came to realise as i watched more and more of his films that they were all terrific because of his fine acting.
Your probably thinking ok so what has this got to do with "Before Night Falls"?
Well i'll tell you. I sat down to watch this film in utter confidence that it would be an ok kinda film, not brilliant but ok. Johnny would only have a small part to play but ok it was worth a shot.
The first half an hour was good, the story of this little cuban boy. But what the most irritating thing was was that the narration is almost completly not understandable.The voice is so unclear, has the strongest accent ive ever heard and the man mumbles. I ended up having to watch the whole film with subtitles just so that i could hear what was being said, which made me realise the narration and subtitles sound like two different storys!
Secondly the film is way to long and by the end (last 20 minutes) i couldnt wait for it to end. Don't get me wrong its not because i don't enjoy passsionate films or anything , its just it drags on and on and on and on.
I would say to anyone wanting to see this film only see it if you are spanish and can therefore enjoy the film without subtitles or if you are a true Johnny Depp fan but even if you are he has about 10 minutes of screen time if not that through the whole film. Not really worth the time or money