| Overall Grade: |
A |
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| Story: |
A |
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| Acting: |
A+ |
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| Direction: |
A- |
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| Visuals: |
A |
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Javier Bardem is Reinaldo Arenas!
by Rye. (movies profile)
Mar 3, 2006
1
of
1 people found this review helpful
Semi-autobiographical retelling of estranged Cuban poet and novelist Reinaldo Arenas. Growing up in the undernourished Oriente Province in the 1940’s, Arenas [Javier Bardem] would travel as a teenager to Havana where he is engulfed with a group of writers and artists in the revolutionary crisis that plagued Cuba. Imprisonment at El Marro, an embattled political spirit, homosexuality, and his first novel ‘Singing from the well’, controversially summarizes this courageous artist. Julian Schnabel direction is well worthy of appraisal, as biographical typed movies are very difficult to film, as he captures the revolution excellently with amazing cinematography. A fine tuned cast with saluted performances by a skilled supporting cast and a magnificent leading performance by Javier Bardem who was rightfully Oscar nominated is nothing short but exemplary, his portrayal of homosexuality onscreen is decisively accurate, as he distinctly delivers the best performance of the calendar year. Before Night Falls is an aggressively charged motion picture that examine the main stature of a beloved artist who’s beliefs changed the lives of some and inspired many, all set in the backdrop of a volatile nation of civil unrest. |
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