In Cuba after the revolution in 1959, gay poet and novelist Reinaldo Arenas (Javier Bardem) moves to Havana where he is swept up in the revolutionary spirit and joins a circle of writers and artists. His first novel, "Singing from the Well," is published in Cuba, but as Castro's oppressive regime gathers force, Arenas' homosexuality and political writing make him a target. He is arrested after two boys who have stolen from him falsely accuse him of sexual assault. Later he gets into trouble for having his books smuggled out of the country and published abroad. For a decade he goes in and out of prisons, escapes from prison and tries to leave Cuba on a tire inner tube. The attempt fails and he is rearrested. In prison he helps other inmates to write letters to wives and lovers. When he is forced to renounce his books, he is released. In 1980 he is told that, as part of the Mariel Harbor Boatlift, he is allowed to emigrate because of being gay. After first suspecting this might be a trick, he successfully claims homosexuality, and moves to Miami. Then he relocates to NYC with his friend Lazaro Gomez Carilles (Olivier Martinez). Arenas' hopes for a new life are destroyed by AIDS, and without health insurance, he kills himself in 1990 at the age of 45. A friend is present who promises not to alert medical services. Moreover, he speeds up death by suffocation with a plastic bag.
This was the second film of director Julian Schnabel, after "Basquiat" (1996). It took 4 years to produce the film, and it had its world premiere at the 2000 Venice International Film Festival. The most confusing thing in this movie is that Johnny Depp plays two separate characters: the first is a drag queen in jail, and the second is as a Lieutenant who interrogates Arenas. It's not clear if this second character is the first one out of drag, or if Depp is playing someone else entirely. Carter Burwell composed the music. The screenplay was written by Julian Schnabel, Cunningham O'Keefe, and Lázaro Gómez Carriles, based on the autobiography by Reinaldo Arenas. The Spanish title is "Antes Que Anochezca". Available in Spanish and English languages.
This was the second film of director Julian Schnabel, after "Basquiat" (1996). It took 4 years to produce the film, and it had its world premiere at the 2000 Venice International Film Festival. The most confusing thing in this movie is that Johnny Depp plays two separate characters: the first is a drag queen in jail, and the second is as a Lieutenant who interrogates Arenas. It's not clear if this second character is the first one out of drag, or if Depp is playing someone else entirely. Carter Burwell composed the music. The screenplay was written by Julian Schnabel, Cunningham O'Keefe, and Lázaro Gómez Carriles, based on the autobiography by Reinaldo Arenas. The Spanish title is "Antes Que Anochezca". Available in Spanish and English languages.
