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Before Night Falls

Before Night Falls

Drama · 2000

Spanning several decades, this powerful biopic offers a glimpse into the life of famed Cuban poet and novelist Reinaldo Arenas, an artist who was vilified for his homosexuality in Fidel Castro's Cuba.

Movie details

Before Night Falls

2000 Drama 2h 14m

Critical arithmetic

One number, for now.

TMDB

6.7 / 10

Community rating

Spanning several decades, this powerful biopic offers a glimpse into the life of famed Cuban poet and novelist Reinaldo Arenas, an artist who was vilified for his homosexuality in Fidel Castro's Cuba.

CriticWise case file

What this film says about your taste.

Not a recommendation score. A measure of how closely the film’s taste signals resemble yours.

The archetype split

Who fights over Before Night Falls?

The split comes from the same five-axis model used by the test, not audience ratings or review sentiment.

Taste neighbourhood

Nearby on the taste map.

TMDB supplies the candidates. CriticWise reorders them by craft, strangeness, prestige, emotion, and pace.

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Names above the title

The people responsible.

Directed by

Julian Schnabel

Written by

Cunningham O'Keefe · Lázaro Gómez Carriles · Julian Schnabel

Javier Bardem

Javier Bardem

Reinaldo Arenas

Olivier Martinez

Olivier Martinez

Lazaro Gomez Carilles

Johnny Depp

Johnny Depp

Bon Bon / Lieutenant Victor

Andrea Di Stefano

Andrea Di Stefano

Pepe Malas

Santiago Magill

Santiago Magill

Tomas Diego

John Ortiz

John Ortiz

Juan Abreu

Héctor Babenco

Héctor Babenco

Virgilio Pinera

Court is in session

Put Before Night Falls on trial.

Two incompatible taste archetypes. One film. Read the arguments, then issue a completely binding cultural ruling.

The defence The Prestige Tourist

“Ambition earns the room.”

The film reaches for consequence and scale, accepting the risk of seriousness instead of shrinking from it.

The prosecution The Popcorn Loyalist

“Importance has entered the chat.”

The production keeps announcing its significance, as though awards-season posture were proof of insight.