Fact, Fiction and the Real Record of the Cuban Revolution
"BEFORE NIGHT FALLS" -- Starring Javier Bardem, Olivier Martínez,
Andrea di Stefano, Johnny Depp, and Michael Wincott. Directed by Julian
Schnabel. Based on the memoir by Reinaldo Arenas. Grandview Pictures,
Fine Line Films, 2000.
LOS ANGELES (29 January) -- The buzz on "Before Night Falls," Julian
Schnabel's new film now showing in New York, Los Angeles, and San
Francisco prior to national release, has begun and has yet to peak. It
won the Grand Jury Prize last year at the Venice International Film
Festival, and the prestigious American Film Institute named it Movie of
the Year.
The film's star, Javier Bardem, received a Golden Globe nomination for
his portrayal of self-exiled Cuban novelist and poet Reinaldo Arenas on
whose autobiographical memoir of the same name the movie is based. He
was cited as best actor at the Venice festival, as well as by the
National Board of Review, National Society of Film Critics, and
Southeastern Critics, and will likely receive a nomination for an
Academy Award.
The film, its director, and cast have been nominated for four
Independent Spirit awards, the leading prize for independent films, and
has made over 50 U.S. reviewers' top-ten lists.
Old Trash in New Buckets: Be Alert to "Before Night Falls"
New York Times movie critic Stephen Holden's year-end thumbnail sketch of the film could serve as boilerplate for the acclaim. "Imagined in vivid painterly strokes," he states, "and a screenplay that incorporates swatches of its subject's writing, Julian Schnabel's biography of exiled gay Cuban poet and novelist Reinaldo Arenas portrays him as a martyred victim of Fidel Castro's revolution." Newsweek's David Ansen raves that it's "lyrical, sensual and shattering--a devastating indictment of the Castro regime."
"I don't know much about politics," Schnabel told the LA Weekly, but "instinctively felt something in common with [Arenas] -- and I tried to be true to his voice. Obviously, it's a Latin story -- but it's against totalitarianism in any country. It's about tolerance."
Truth is, "Before Night Falls" is eminently political, a carefully crafted, sophisticated repudiation of the Cuban revolution, betrayed by the dictatorial power of the omnipresent Tyrant, Fidel Castro. Its blatant errors of omission and commission simply showcase the narcissism of its subject, of whose vision Schnabel is so enamored, and thus feels no compunction to embellish, regardless of facts. It would, however, be facile to dismiss the film for these reasons. "Before Night Falls" raises serious questions about and charges against the conduct of the Cuban revolution. These merit a thorough response.
Design © 2001 by Aram Alvarez, NY Transfer.