Critic Reviews
Before Night Falls (2000) Rank 5 Reviews
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based on (152) reviews
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Austin Chronicle (Kimberley Jones)
There are times in Before Night Falls when it physically hurts to watch. Yes, the scenes of violence are terrifying to behold, like when a grown man is forced to suckle a pistol, knowing how completely at mercy he is to the tyranny of another man. But ...read the complete Before Night Falls movie review at Austin Chronicle (Kimberley Jones)
Rolling Stone (Peter Travers)
In uniting to honor Arenas, Bardem and Schnabel create something extraordinary. ...read the complete Before Night Falls movie review at Rolling Stone (Peter Travers)
Rochester Democrat and Chronicle (Jack Garner)
How much did Cuban writer Reinaldo Arenas crave freedom? Enough to try to float 90 miles to Florida in an inner tube.The action was foolhardy and a failure, but it underscored Arenas' relentless desire for free expression.Before ...read the complete Before Night Falls movie review at Rochester Democrat and Chronicle (Jack Garner)
Austin Chronicle (Kimberley Jones)
It's huge and bewildering and it hurts to watch, but it hurts so good it's gorgeous. ...read the complete Before Night Falls movie review at Austin Chronicle (Kimberley Jones)
San Francisco Chronicle (Edward Guthmann)
It's an horrific and tragic story, but somehow made beautiful through the care and attention of Schnabel's direction and Bardem's tender, unforgettable performance. ...read the complete Before Night Falls movie review at San Francisco Chronicle (Edward Guthmann)
watchingmovies.com (Rob McKinnon)
It's a powerful and compelling story that is unflinching in the telling. ...read the complete Before Night Falls movie review at watchingmovies.com (Rob McKinnon)
Entertainment Weekly (Owen Gleiberman)
Arenas' life zigzags before us in a manner as heady and unpredictable as it must have felt to the man who lived it. ...read the complete Before Night Falls movie review at Entertainment Weekly (Owen Gleiberman)
Planet Sick-Boy (Jon Popick)
Since when did the holiday season become the time of year to reflect on tortured artists? If you don't believe me, look at the films released in New York and Los Angeles between Thanksgiving and Christmas. They're all there - Marquis de Sade, Jackson ...read the complete Before Night Falls movie review at Planet Sick-Boy (Jon Popick)
Film.com (Peter Brunette)
With Before Night Falls, Schnabel has moved to an entirely new plane of cinematic achievement. ...read the complete Before Night Falls movie review at Film.com (Peter Brunette)
Atlanta Journal-Constitution (Steve Murray)
A visually arresting, well-acted biopic that would be better in Spanish. ...read the complete Before Night Falls movie review at Atlanta Journal-Constitution (Steve Murray)
Buzz (Dusan Stojkovic)
Variety (David Rooney)
A dense, emotionally satisfying portrait of a man, a time and a place. ...read the complete Before Night Falls movie review at Variety (David Rooney)
Chicago Sun-Times (Roger Ebert)
There is a little something of the spoiled masochist about Arenas. One would not say he seeks misery, but he wears it like a badge of honor, and we can see his mistakes approaching before he does. This is not a weakness in the film but one of its ...read the complete Before Night Falls movie review at Chicago Sun-Times (Roger Ebert)
Daily-Reviews.com (Mike Pinsky)
Chicago Sun-Times (Roger Ebert)
Xiibaro Productions (David Perry)
One Guy's Opinion (Frank Swietek)
Boxoffice Magazine
The tragic life of exiled Cuban author Reinaldo Arenas is the subject of "Before Night Falls," director Julian Schnabel's followup to his debut film "Basquiat." The famed artist-turned-filmmaker here displays the same brash sensibilities that he did in ...read the complete Before Night Falls movie review at Boxoffice Magazine
FilmHead.com (Matt Heffernan)
Three Movie Buffs (Patrick Nash)
Johnny Depp and Sean Penn both have small roles as men he meets on his journey. Still this is a one-man show from beginning to end and it is never boring. Bravo ...read the complete Before Night Falls movie review at Three Movie Buffs (Patrick Nash)
The Movie Chicks
This is based on the memoirs of the Cuban novelist/poet, Reinaldo Arenas (Javier Bardem) who drew poetry from his life even in the extreme poverty he grew up with. Reinaldo runs away to join Castro's rebels believing in the idealistic dreams of a ...read the complete Before Night Falls movie review at The Movie Chicks
TV Guide Entertainment Network, Movie Guide
Movie Hell (Michael J. Legeros)
San Francisco Chronicle (Edward Guthmann)
In "Before Night Falls," Spanish actor Javier Bardem gives a magnificent performance as Reinaldo Arenas, a Cuban poet and novelist who emigrated tothe United States on the Mariel boat lift of 1980 and died 10 years later.
It's a hell of a part for an ...read the complete Before Night Falls movie review at San Francisco Chronicle (Edward Guthmann)
San Francisco Chronicle (Edward Guthmann)
San Francisco Chronicle (Ruthe Stein)
Salon.com (Charles Taylor)
As good as it is, Before Night Falls might not work if Schnabel hadn't found a leading man to hold it together and the Spanish actor Javier Bardem has the understated charisma to pull it off. ...read the complete Before Night Falls movie review at Salon.com (Charles Taylor)
Dallas Observer (David Ehrenstein)
Arenas' story is a downer that doesn't produce despair. That's because of the exceptional bravery of Arenas himself, and the understanding that both Schnabel and his extraordinary leading man, Javier Bardem, have of him, his world, and his time. ...read the complete Before Night Falls movie review at Dallas Observer (David Ehrenstein)
TV Guide (Ken Fox)
Bardem's performance is simply shattering. ...read the complete Before Night Falls movie review at TV Guide (Ken Fox)
Empire Magazine (--)
The New York Times (Stephen Holden)
Like a deathbed dream it leapfrogs through Arenas's life, reconstructing crucial moments as a succession of bright, feverish illuminations. ...read the complete Before Night Falls movie review at The New York Times (Stephen Holden)
TV Guide's Movie Guide (Ken Fox)
Bardem's performance is simply shattering. ...read the complete Before Night Falls movie review at TV Guide's Movie Guide (Ken Fox)
Los Angeles Times (Kenneth Turan)
Redolent of atmosphere and rapturously cinematic, Before Night Falls has a gift for creating visual mood that's so strong you'd swear it couldn't last -- but you'd be wrong. ...read the complete Before Night Falls movie review at Los Angeles Times (Kenneth Turan)
Los Angeles Times (Kenneth Turan)
Anchored by a charismatic and accessible performance by Javier Bardem as star-crossed Cuban writer Reinaldo Arenas, this florid examination of an artist's coming of age, of cultures in collusion and conflict, is difficult to resist. ...read the complete Before Night Falls movie review at Los Angeles Times (Kenneth Turan)
New York Times (Stephen Holden)
If Before Night Falls doesn't give us Arenas's life as he actually experienced it, it offers penetrating glimpses into his life as he may have dreamed it. ...read the complete Before Night Falls movie review at New York Times (Stephen Holden)
DVD Authority.com (Matt Brighton)
UTK Daily Beacon (Ryan Freeman)
JoBlo's Movie Emporium reviews "Before Night Falls"
mazzyboi's movie page (Angelo Aquino)
The UK Critic (Ian Waldron-Mantgani)
Movies are more likely to reach kids than Solzenitsyn novels, so "Before Night Falls" should be shown to all those pretentious bourgeois youngsters who go round in Castro and Guevara shirts, thinking it's smart to glorify the paraphernalia of old-school ...read the complete Before Night Falls movie review at The UK Critic (Ian Waldron-Mantgani)
Sun Newspapers of Cleveland
"Before Night Falls" is the lyric memoir of Cuban author and exile Reinaldo Arenas. The book's translation to screen is a sometimes hard-edged yet ultimately touching rendering, bolstered by the strong performance of Spanish star Javier Bardem. ...read the complete Before Night Falls movie review at Sun Newspapers of Cleveland
ViewLondon (Matthew Turner)
Three stars out of fiveHighly artistic biopic from artist-turned-director Julian Schnabel, featuring a magnificent performance by Bardem.New York artist-turned-director Julian Schnabel’s previous film was Basquiat – another film about the life of an ...read the complete Before Night Falls movie review at ViewLondon (Matthew Turner)
New York Daily News (Jack Mathews)
A personal eulogy, from one artist to another, and an indictment of all systems of government that deny people the right to free expression and the full realization of their talent. ...read the complete Before Night Falls movie review at New York Daily News (Jack Mathews)
Christian Science Monitor (David Sterritt)
Politics and humanism find an engrossing balance in this ambitious drama based on the life of Reinaldo Arenas, a gay Cuban poet who was persecuted by the homophobic Castro regime. ...read the complete Before Night Falls movie review at Christian Science Monitor (David Sterritt)
ReelViews (James Berardinelli)
Before Night Falls received its world premiere at the 2000 Venice Film Festival and its North American premiere at the 2000 Toronto Film Festival. It was lauded with critical praise at both venues (in large part, I think, because critics ...read the complete Before Night Falls movie review at ReelViews (James Berardinelli)
SPLICEDwire (Rob Blackwelder)
Palo Alto Online (Susan Tavernetti)
A scene from The Alamo.The independence of Texas is an American legend. The Texan/Tejano stand-off, bloodily disputed and ultimately won at the Alamo in San Antonio, is the stuff of cinematic dreams. Disney-esque cinematic dreams, that is. The Alamo is ...read the complete Before Night Falls movie review at Palo Alto Online (Susan Tavernetti)
Film Written Magazine (Jaime N. Christley)
It has the concentration of a novel, the rhythms of a poem, and the beauty of a series of full-color photographs. ...read the complete Before Night Falls movie review at Film Written Magazine (Jaime N. Christley)
Moviola (Jorge Avila Andrade)
Sencillamente, una de las mejores y más emotivas cintas del año ...read the complete Before Night Falls movie review at Moviola (Jorge Avila Andrade)
Reel.com
Portraying the life of an artist whose method is the written word is very difficult. Other modes of expression are far easier to represent visually and can allow the filmmaker to more successfully connect the audience with the main character's internal ...read the complete Before Night Falls movie review at Reel.com
Lawrence Journal-World (Dan Lybarger)
Schnabel can take on an apparently spent genre like the biopic and produce a pair of films that ooze vitality as they give their subjects a much needed celebration. ...read the complete Before Night Falls movie review at Lawrence Journal-World (Dan Lybarger)
Detroit News (Susan Stark)
Ozus' World Movie Reviews (Dennis Schwartz)
Julian Schnabel ( "Basquiat" ), the artist turned filmmaker, adapted the 1993 posthumously written autobiographical memoir of gay Cuban poet and novelist Reinaldo Arenas whose difficult life is painted in quick glimpses of his desperate but unfulfilled ...read the complete Before Night Falls movie review at Ozus' World Movie Reviews (Dennis Schwartz)
ToxicUniverse.com (John Nesbit)
Overall, Before Night Falls is worthwhile. It may be uneven in parts and seems anticlimactic during the latter ...read the complete Before Night Falls movie review at ToxicUniverse.com (John Nesbit)
Globe and Mail (--)
Palo Alto Weekly (Susan Tavernetti)
Greg's Previews at Yahoo! Movies (Greg Dean Schmitz)
A valuable film because it tells a tale of Cuban struggle and hardship of a type that we surprisingly don't see that often in film. ...read the complete Before Night Falls movie review at Greg's Previews at Yahoo! Movies (Greg Dean Schmitz)
ReelViews (James Berardinelli)
It should come as no surprise that, for his second outing behind the camera, Julian Schnabel has once again turned his attention towards an artist (Schnabel's debut was 1996's Basquiat). For the director, who is world-renowned for his painting, the appeal ...read the complete Before Night Falls movie review at ReelViews (James Berardinelli)
Movie Habit (Marty Mapes)
But Before Night Falls has some great qualities. Bardem gives an outstanding performance as Arenas (he was nominated for the best actor Oscar). Schnabel's portrait of the writer is interesting and insightful. The depiction of Cuba is rare and revealing. ...read the complete Before Night Falls movie review at Movie Habit (Marty Mapes)
Entertainment Insiders (Stephen Wong)
WHSmith.co.uk review
MovieFreak.com (Dennis Landmann)
artechock (Svenja Alsmann)
Movie-Vault.com (David Trier)
digitallyOBSESSED.com (Daniel Hirshleifer)
CineScene.com (Les Phillips)
DVD Town (Henning Molbaek)
CultureDose.net (John Nesbit)
DVD Net (Terry Kemp)
Chicago Reader (Jonathan Rosenbaum)
An impressive piece of filmmaking, with lively and suggestive depictions of pre- and postrevolutionary Cuba (shot in Mexico). ...read the complete Before Night Falls movie review at Chicago Reader (Jonathan Rosenbaum)
Rovin' and Ravin' with Mike
CineScene.com (Chris Dashiell)
Screen It! Entertainment Reviews for Parents
The Cranky Critic (Chuck Schwartz)
PopMatters (Lucas Hilderbrand)
Matinee Magazine (Joe McGovern)
The picture is ultimately an indulgent bore, admirable yet ineffective. ...read the complete Before Night Falls movie review at Matinee Magazine (Joe McGovern)
City Pages, Minneapolis/St. Paul
Montreal Film Journal (Kevin N. Laforest)
Lobo Howls (Judith Wolfe)
Reel.com (Rod Armstrong)
Reel.com DVD review (Pam Grady)
Cozzi fan Tutti Celluloid Musings (Jill Cozzi)
Mixed Reviews: The Arts, The World, and More (Gabriel Shanks)
Shadows on the Wall (Rich Cline)
Films on Disc (Stuart J. Kobak)
Cinemaphile.org (David Keyes)
Dave's Other Movie Log Review
eye WEEKLY (Jason Anderson)
World Socialist Web Site
Philadelphia City Paper (Cindy Fuchs)
Entertainment Insiders (Stephen Wong)
Spirituality & Health (Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat)
This touching screen adaptation of the autobiography of gay Cuban novelist and poet Reinaldo Arenas convincingly shows how freedom is the air that writers must breathe in order to fully express their creative souls. That, of course, is also the theme in ...read the complete Before Night Falls movie review at Spirituality & Health (Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat)
Christian Spotlight on the Movies
Reeling Reviews (Robin and Laura Clifford)
hybridmagazine.com
The Squiz: Cine Philes ("Guido Mezzabotta")
iofilm.co.uk
And so filmmakers rely on the life, rather than the work, to illustrate artistic expression. Reinaldo Arenas's life was extreme. Born into poverty in Cuba during the bad old days, he spent his early years, surrounded by women, way off in the country. He ...read the complete Before Night Falls movie review at iofilm.co.uk
Flak Magazine (Sara J. Brenneis)
Combustible Celluloid (Jeffrey M. Anderson)
James Sanford On Film
Film Threat, Hollywood's Indie Voice
Reinaldo Arenas was a gay Cuban poet, and given the harsh government in Cuba, he was severely persecuted for those other two labels. There's nothing in that statement that couldn't be offered in a footnote in a history book, yet those facts are all you ...read the complete Before Night Falls movie review at Film Threat, Hollywood's Indie Voice
Guide To Current DVD: Before Night Falls
Director and artist Julian Schnabel presented audiences with his second picture in 2000, "Before Night Falls", a dream-like look at the life of famed Cuban poet Renaldo Arenas, who remained an outcast in his society because he was gay and a writer. The ...read the complete Before Night Falls movie review at Guide To Current DVD: Before Night Falls
New York Post (Lou Lumenick)
Kino (Alessandro Bencivenni)
filmcritic.com (Christopher Null)
Is there a rule that all biopics must begin at birth and end at death? Death I can understand, but the actions of a three-month old just don't seem of much relevance to any story, regardless of how important the subject is.
Alas, the subject of Before ...read the complete Before Night Falls movie review at filmcritic.com (Christopher Null)
Jigsaw Lounge (Neil Young)
The Boston Phoenix
Political Film Society
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
NY Transfer (Jon Hillson)
Mr. Cranky Rates the Movies (Mr. Cranky)
Miradas desde el Sur (Leonel Delgado Aburto)
The (Georgetown) Hoya
Seattle Post-Intelligencer (Sean Axmaker)
Under Schnabel's direction, it becomes stilted and static, if not simplistic. ...read the complete Before Night Falls movie review at Seattle Post-Intelligencer (Sean Axmaker)
CineFile : il Cinema in Rete (Alberto Cassani)
El Criticon (Antonio Méndez Casanova)
cinEncanto (José Martín Sulaimán)
Boxoffice Magazine
cinEncanto (Pablo del Moral)
Entertainment Today (Brent Simon)
Saddled with a wandering opening and an equally listless conclusion, a more fitting name for this two hour-plus biopic might well be Before Night Falters . ...read the complete Before Night Falls movie review at Entertainment Today (Brent Simon)
Steve Rhodes
Sean Penn and Johnny Depp lend their names to the picture by turning in some nice cameos. See if you can recognize them. The rest of the supporting cast isn't the least bit memorable.Schnabel makes some unusual and frequently unsuccessful choices. The ...read the complete Before Night Falls movie review at Steve Rhodes
DVD Talk (Holly E. Ordway)
Before Night Falls was a worthwhile viewing experience, though not necessarily one that I'll feel the need to revisit. I appreciated getting an insight into life in Cuba from an objective point of view; the film clearly shows what Arenas suffered there, ...read the complete Before Night Falls movie review at DVD Talk (Holly E. Ordway)
JoBlo's Movie Emporium ("JoBlo")
Not my cup o' tea. I was expecting to learn something from this movie. It's obviously not a film that was made to "entertain", but one which I believed would hopefully give me some more insight into the plight of Cubans back in the day, some further ...read the complete Before Night Falls movie review at JoBlo's Movie Emporium ("JoBlo")
Laramie Movie Scope (Robert Roten)
Mr. Brown's Movies (Michael Dequina)
[Bardem] simply does what the script calls for him to do, which is basically sustain a look of pain for two-hours plus. ...read the complete Before Night Falls movie review at Mr. Brown's Movies (Michael Dequina)
Reno Gazette-Journal (Forrest Hartman)
The cinematography is beautiful and clearly shows the director’s artistic bent, but the storytelling is often disjointed. . . . Ultimately, Before Night Falls is more successful as a Javier Bardem showcase than a movie. ...read the complete Before Night Falls movie review at Reno Gazette-Journal (Forrest Hartman)
eFilmCritic.com (Greg Muskewitz)
Matt's Movie Reviews (Matt Easterbrook)
All this is well and good, it's just rather boring. ...read the complete Before Night Falls movie review at Matt's Movie Reviews (Matt Easterbrook)
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