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Before Night Falls

Country: USA, Language: English | Spanish | Russian | French, 133 mins

  • Director: Julian Schnabel
  • Writer: Cunningham O'Keefe; Lázaro Gómez Carriles
  • Producer: Matthias Ehrenberg; Jon Kilik

CGiii Comment

Reinaldo Arenas (1943-1990), his life...

Exceptional film-making.

Exceptional acting.

Exceptional in every way.

RIP


Trailer...

The(ir) Blurb...

Episodic look at the life of Cuban poet and novelist, Reinaldo Arenas (1943-1990), from his childhood in Oriente province to his death in New York City. He joins Castro's rebels. By 1964, he is in Havana. He meets the wealthy Pepe, an early lover; a love-hate relationship lasts for years. Openly gay behavior is a way to spite the government. His writing and homosexuality get him into trouble: he spends two years in prison, writing letters for other inmates and smuggling out a novel. He befriends Lázaro Gomes Garriles, with whom he lives stateless and in poverty in Manhattan after leaving Cuba in the Mariel boat-lift. When asked why he writes, he replies cheerfully, "Revenge."

Cast & Characters

Olatz Lopez Garmendia as Reinaldo's Mother;
Giovanni Florido as Young Reinaldo;
Lolo Navarro as Reinaldo's Grandmother;
Sebastian Silva as Reinaldo's Father;
Carmen Beato as Teacher;
Cy Schnabel as Smallest School Child;
Olmo Schnabel as Smallest School Child;
Vito Maria Schnabel as Teenage Reinaldo;
Pedro Armendariz Jr. as Reinaldo's Grandfather;
Diego Luna as Carlos;
Lia Chapman as Lolin;
Sean Penn as Cuco Sanchez;
Jerzy Skolimowski as Professor;
Aquiles Benites as Translator;
Eva Piaskowska as Pretty Blonde Student