Before Night Falls

Title: Antes que anochezca (Before Night Falls)
Released: 2000

Before Night Falls is based on the life of Cuban poet and novelist, Reinaldo Arenas, played by Javier Bardem, recently made famous as the protagonist of The Sea Inside (El Mar Adentro). Arenas knew hardship beginning in his childhood, and after practically being disowned by his grandfather for having a gift for writing, at 15-years-old, Arenas joins Fidel Castro's revolucionarios and later ends up as a student the University of Havana. In Havana, Arenas establishes himself as a writer as Fidel's regime becomes more and more repressive. Arenas becomes a "counter-revolucionary" threat not only because of his writing, but because he is openly gay, which is seen as an anti-social threat to the regime. Arenas' writing mentor explains that since Castro's government couldn't control what artists create--beauty--he wanted it to be stopped. The film presents a sobering look at life in Cuba under Castro and a touching story. The only criticism I have to the movie is that it was mostly in English and would have been better in Spanish. The film includes cameos by Johnny Depp and a tiny role played by Sean Penn. The movie's namesake is Arenas's final autobiographical memoir, which he wrote shorty before his death.