"The violation of gay rights in Cuba"
Before Night Falls is a film directed by Julian Schnabel and starring Javier Bardem, who won the nomination 'Oscar Award' for Best Actor for his portrayal of Cuban poet and writer Reinaldo Arenas.
The life of Reinaldo Arenas (Javier Bardem) is shown from his childhood in a rural environment and its early involvement in the Revolution, to the persecution that would later experience as a writer and homosexual in Cuba in the early years of the Revolution; since his departure from Cuba in the 1980 exodus, to his exile and death in the United States. It is the portrait of a man whose desire for artistic, political and sexual freedom defied poverty, censorship, persecution, exile and death.
With high doses and excessive poetic drama, the film manages to exceed the parameters representing censorship for the time. Abuse by what happened this young man from the aggressive behavior of the father, his childhood and adolescence, up to grow with their biological stereotype and how it was rejected by the enhancement of the Cuban idealists in the early years of radical Cuban revolution , 1959.
The life of Reinaldo Arenas (Javier Bardem) is shown from his childhood in a rural environment and its early involvement in the Revolution, to the persecution that would later experience as a writer and homosexual in Cuba in the early years of the Revolution; since his departure from Cuba in the 1980 exodus, to his exile and death in the United States. It is the portrait of a man whose desire for artistic, political and sexual freedom defied poverty, censorship, persecution, exile and death.
With high doses and excessive poetic drama, the film manages to exceed the parameters representing censorship for the time. Abuse by what happened this young man from the aggressive behavior of the father, his childhood and adolescence, up to grow with their biological stereotype and how it was rejected by the enhancement of the Cuban idealists in the early years of radical Cuban revolution , 1959.
Trailer
The Director
Julian Schnabel (born in New York on October 26, 1951) is a painter and film director of Jewish origin. His three films ("Basquiat," "Before Night Falls" and "The Diving Bell and the Butterfly ') have led him to be hailed at Cannes (Palme d'Or) and be awarded or nominated for Golden Globe, BAFTA, in Caesar and the International Venice Film Festival. As artist became known for his plate paintings ("paints dishes" in Spanish), which received mixed reviews, and usually clasificársele as part of the movement called Bad Painting (bad painting), which is one stream of neo-expressionism. His work is exhibited in many major museums worldwide.
The Protagonist
Javier Ángel Encinas Bardem (Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Spain 1ro.de March 1969), better known as Javier Bardem is the first Spanish actor who was nominated for an Oscar and the first to win eight years later for her role in No Country for Old Men (2008). He has also won five Goya, a Golden Globe, a BAFTA, the Cannes Festival Award for Best Actor and Screen Actors Guild Award. He is married to actress Penelope Cruz, with whom he has worked on 'Jamón, jamón', 'Flesh' and 'Vicky Cristina Barcelona'. The first son named Leo, was born on January 22, 2011 in Los Angeles.
Another major actors in the film is Johnny Deep, well known in the world of cinema and that this time represents the secondary role of a homosexual prisoner in the prisons of Cuba and a lieutenant named Victor.
See one of his speeches and characterizations in the film.
Who was Reinaldo Arenas?
Reinaldo Arenas was born on July 16, 1943 in the former province of Oriente. His mother, a beautiful woman, was soon abandoned by the father of Reinaldo. Delivered to a life of bitter chastity in a sexist society, Reinaldo's mother returned with the child to his parents' farm in the Cuban province of Oriente. Reinaldo's childhood was defined by the contrast between the harsh poverty and natural splendor that surrounded him; in abundance and anonymity conferred by those opposing such circumstances, he found an immeasurable freedom. The boy followed his impulses, by writing poetry, watching other boys either naked bathing in the river, or rebelling on the unpredictability of a torrential downpour.
In 1958 he joined Castro's insurrection to overthrow dictator Fulgencio Batista. With the triumph of the Revolution, Reinaldo could participate in the new government's ambitious program to educate youth. In 1962, Reinaldo was studying at the University of Havana, and living in a cosmopolitan city that made him vibrate with enthusiasm and possibilities. There he discovered that he was a sexual revolution taking place while the official Revolution, and her numerous lovers introduced him to the thriving gay subculture in Havana.
In those early days of the Revolution, the life of Reinaldo was an exploration of his identity as a writer and homosexual activities pursued both forward and joy. He participated in a storytelling contest and obvious talent made him get a secure job in the prestigious National Library. He befriended some of the most renowned writers, including Virgilio Piñera and José Lezama Lima. At age 20, he wrote his first novel, "Singing from the Well," which was awarded the First Mention in the National Competition Cirilo Villaverde country. "Singing from the" would be the only book published in Cuba Reinaldo.
In 1958 he joined Castro's insurrection to overthrow dictator Fulgencio Batista. With the triumph of the Revolution, Reinaldo could participate in the new government's ambitious program to educate youth. In 1962, Reinaldo was studying at the University of Havana, and living in a cosmopolitan city that made him vibrate with enthusiasm and possibilities. There he discovered that he was a sexual revolution taking place while the official Revolution, and her numerous lovers introduced him to the thriving gay subculture in Havana.
In those early days of the Revolution, the life of Reinaldo was an exploration of his identity as a writer and homosexual activities pursued both forward and joy. He participated in a storytelling contest and obvious talent made him get a secure job in the prestigious National Library. He befriended some of the most renowned writers, including Virgilio Piñera and José Lezama Lima. At age 20, he wrote his first novel, "Singing from the Well," which was awarded the First Mention in the National Competition Cirilo Villaverde country. "Singing from the" would be the only book published in Cuba Reinaldo.
Reinaldo Arenas in Cuba
In the late 60s, the Cuban government imposed crackdown on artists and homosexuals. The writers were forced to leave their jobs and homosexuals were searched and sent to labor camps whose flowery names contradicted his cruelty. Despite the danger, Reinaldo continued writing, giving vent to his irreverent and frank view. His second novel, "El Mundo Alucinante" was smuggled out of Cuba and published in France, which earned him the hostility of the Cuban government. During the following years, he was subjected to relentless persecution by the government and the police, revising their rooms, confiscated his work and threatened her friends.
In 1973, after an altercation on the beach, Reinaldo was falsely accused of sexual abuse and arrested. He escaped from prison and made a desperate attempt to leave the island on a giant tire with just a bag of food. But his attempt failed; Reinaldo became a fugitive. He was re-arrested near Lenin Park and was sent to prison in El Morro, known for its bad reputation, where two-year sentence he served alongside murderers, rapists and common criminals. Thanks to the letters he wrote to the prisoners, got paper and pens he needed for his own writings. However, their attempts to smuggle his work out of prison were discovered, and suffered a brutal punishment. Forced to choose between giving up their jobs or disappear from the face of the earth, Reinaldo chose the former.
On leaving El Morro, Reinaldo was already an award-winning writer without a place to live. A friend got a room in a hotel and it was there where he met Lázaro Gómez Carriles, who became his friend.
In 1980, the Cuban government allowed homosexuals, the mentally ill and criminals come out of Cuba through the port of Mariel; Reinaldo skillful maneuver, which trick your passport, allowed to leave the country undetected. After trying in Miami, he moved to New York, where he began his life as an exile: impoverished and stateless, but with an appetite for living and writing still fierce, and his humor, his rage and intact honesty. However, the struggle was not over; after contracting AIDS, launched a furious race against death to complete the job at hand. When he died in 1990, Reinaldo had written more than 20 books, including 10 novels and numerous short stories, poems and plays. His work is probably the most passionate and full of rage all that has been written against the Cuban state.
In 1973, after an altercation on the beach, Reinaldo was falsely accused of sexual abuse and arrested. He escaped from prison and made a desperate attempt to leave the island on a giant tire with just a bag of food. But his attempt failed; Reinaldo became a fugitive. He was re-arrested near Lenin Park and was sent to prison in El Morro, known for its bad reputation, where two-year sentence he served alongside murderers, rapists and common criminals. Thanks to the letters he wrote to the prisoners, got paper and pens he needed for his own writings. However, their attempts to smuggle his work out of prison were discovered, and suffered a brutal punishment. Forced to choose between giving up their jobs or disappear from the face of the earth, Reinaldo chose the former.
On leaving El Morro, Reinaldo was already an award-winning writer without a place to live. A friend got a room in a hotel and it was there where he met Lázaro Gómez Carriles, who became his friend.
In 1980, the Cuban government allowed homosexuals, the mentally ill and criminals come out of Cuba through the port of Mariel; Reinaldo skillful maneuver, which trick your passport, allowed to leave the country undetected. After trying in Miami, he moved to New York, where he began his life as an exile: impoverished and stateless, but with an appetite for living and writing still fierce, and his humor, his rage and intact honesty. However, the struggle was not over; after contracting AIDS, launched a furious race against death to complete the job at hand. When he died in 1990, Reinaldo had written more than 20 books, including 10 novels and numerous short stories, poems and plays. His work is probably the most passionate and full of rage all that has been written against the Cuban state.
Photos Gallery
Based on Before Night Falls by Reynaldo Arenas
Cinematography:
Production:
El Mar Pictures
Grandview Pictures
Distributed by:
Release date(s)
September 3, 2000 (Venice Film Festival)
January 26, 2001 (United States)
Running time: 133 minutes
Country: United States
Before Night Falls
Directed by: Julian Schnabel
Produced by: Jon Kilik
Screenplay by: Cunningham O'Keefe,
Lázaro Gómez Carriles and
Julian Schnabel
Produced by: Jon Kilik
Screenplay by: Cunningham O'Keefe,
Lázaro Gómez Carriles and
Julian Schnabel
Based on Before Night Falls by Reynaldo Arenas
Starring:
Javier Bardem
Olivier Martinez
Johnny Depp
Héctor Babenco
Olivier Martinez
Johnny Depp
Héctor Babenco
Music by:
Carter Burwell
Cinematography:
Xavier Pérez Grobet & Guillermo Rosas
Edited by:
Michael Berenbaum
Production:
El Mar Pictures
Grandview Pictures
Distributed by:
Fine Line Features
Release date(s)
September 3, 2000 (Venice Film Festival)
January 26, 2001 (United States)
Running time: 133 minutes
Country: United States
Localitation:
Veracruz, Mexico