Directed by:
Julian SchnabelScreenplay:
Julian SchnabelCinematography:
Xavier GrobetComposer:
Carter BurwellCast:
Javier Bardem, Olivier Martinez, Andrea Di Stefano, Johnny Depp, Michael Wincott, Carmen Beato, Pedro Armendáriz Jr., Diego Luna, Sean Penn (more)VOD (1)
Plots(1)
BEFORE NIGHT FALLS tells the story of Cuban poet and novelist Reinaldo Arenas (Academy Award-winner Javier Bardem). Raised in the Oriente Province of Cuba in the 1940s, Arenas began his life-long love of the sea and water. Leaving home as a young adolescent, he moves to Havana where he finds himself 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. After being falsely accused of molestation, Arenas is arrested and imprisoned at El Morro. Eventually released from prison after dehumanizing treatment, Arenas flees Cuba in the 1980 Mariel Harbor boatlift. After moving to New York with his friend Lazaro Gomez Carilles, Arenas' hopes for a new life are destroyed by AIDS, and he dies in 1993, at the age of 45. (Cinemax)
(more)Awards
- Winner
- Nominations
Academy Awards
- 2001 - Javier Bardem (Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role)
Independent Spirit Awards
- 2001 - Javier Bardem (Best Male Lead)
- 2001 - Jon Kilik (Best Feature)
- 2001 - Julian Schnabel (Best Director)
- 2001 - Guillermo Rosas, Xavier Grobet (Best Cinematography)
Golden Globes
- 2001 - Javier Bardem (Best Actor in a Motion Picture – Drama)
Los Angeles Film Critics Association Awards
- 2000 - Javier Bardem (Best Actor)
Venice Film Festival
- 2000 - Julian Schnabel (Silver Lion - Grand Jury Prize)
- 2000 - Javier Bardem (Volpi Cup for Best Actor)
- 2000 - Julian Schnabel (Golden Lion for Best Film)