Before Night Falls (2000) - Julian Schnabel

It's amazing that the more films you see the more cliches you get to spot. Schnabel's sophomore effort is full of them. Somebody wakes up in a sweat, they must be sick, everyone loves the revolution but will soon be punished, there's black people so better play some tribal music and have them dance, etc. That said Schnabel makes a point to not exactly spell everything out here. Characters come and go and we have a lot to assume. It's obvious to us that Reinaldo is dying of AIDS, but that is never said in the film. Javier Bardem gives a great performance which well warranted his Oscar nomination (far more impressive than Russell Crowe's win in Gladiator). There were a few moments in the film where I had to just scratch my head. So a teacher tells the patriarch of Arenas' family that Reinaldo has a poet's sensibility and the grandfather proceeds to get angry and cut down a tree then move the entire family to Holguin. Can anyone explain that to me? As a film it tends to be a little too long and too leisurely. Bardem did a fantastic job however.

*Before Night Falls was nominated for best actor.