Review of Before Night Falls (2000) by Arlys P — 20 Nov 2007

Only foreign films do this.

In America, all movies fall into a certain limited spectrum.

At worst, they are mindless entertainment. At best, they're a stunningly effective medium for the telling of a story.

Very rarely, if ever, do they verge into this territory claimed by Before Night Falls: It is a singular and sweeping work of ART.

Javier Bardem gives a captivating performance, and the supporting players are all very good as well. (Including a blink-and-you'll-miss-him Sean Penn, and Johnny Depp in a dual role as a sadistic Lieutenant and a tranny with a very elastic rectum.).

The story is at times a riveting tale of courage, and at times it is indecipherable an impossible to follow. The only memorable dialogue consists of poetry recitations. This is where the film suffers and it's the reason for the imperfect 4-out-of-5-stars rating.

However, under a different dictator's guidance, the film would have lost a great deal more than a single star.

But Julian Schabel is an artist, pure and simple. He shows us so much of this story using only ingenious and flawless shot composition and the film's beautiful score, or, better yet, complete silence. It truly is the film that a painter might make.

Simply GORGEOUS.