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Before Night Falls
User Score
8.2 out of 10

Universal acclaim- based on 18 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 16 out of 18
  2. Mixed: 1 out of 18
  3. Negative: 1 out of 18

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  1. BlancoA.
    Mar 9, 2001
    10
    Just see it. It will be a travesty when Javier Bardem is passed over for the Academy Award (unless, of course, Ed Harris wins for "Pollack"). This film is beautiful, hopeful, and inspirational. I'll be first in line to see Bardem's next film.
    • 0 of 0 users said yes
  2. MarlonG.
    Jul 18, 2001
    10
    Impresive. Bardem is just amazing.
    • 0 of 0 users said yes
  3. Diana
    Mar 11, 2005
    10
    The movie's style reflects Arenas' work well, and incorporates his poetry and fiction into some of the major biographical aspects. please watch the original with subtitles; it is so much better. and let it prompt you to read some arenas!
    • 0 of 0 users said yes
  4. DesiM.
    Mar 23, 2001
    10
    Engrossing, beautifully photographed, hilarious, painful, joyous, tragic, triumphant. If you have ANY interest in this film's subject matter, do NOT miss it, period.
    • 0 of 0 users said yes
  5. AnthonyZ.
    May 24, 2001
    10
    Rich and talented storytelling with graceful, subtle profundity.
    • 0 of 0 users said yes
  6. NedD.
    Sep 14, 2001
    6
    Bardem is amazing, but that's all to recommend it. Julian Schnabel wastes yet another opportunity in depicting an artist on film (the first was "Basquiat"). Disjointed and uninvolving, and I never seemed to learn anything about the man or his writing. He was Cuban, he was gay, he escaped, he died. That is "Before Night Falls" in a nutshell.
    • 0 of 0 users said yes
  7. JonC.
    May 22, 2001
    10
    Best film released last year. Embrace it. Enjoy it. Love it.
    • 0 of 0 users said yes
  8. ryancarroll88
    Aug 26, 2010
    4
    Aside from a few fleeting moments of cinematic brilliance and some key performances, Julian Schnabel's biopic of homosexual Cuban writer Reinaldo Arenas falls flat on its face. Guest spots by Sean Penn and Johnny Depp are hilarious, though.
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Critic Reviews

All reviews »
Metascore
85 out of 100

Universal acclaim - based on 26 Critics

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 25 out of 26
  2. Mixed: 1 out of 26
  3. Negative: 0 out of 26
  1. Mr. Showbiz
    Reviewed by: Kevin Maynard
    80
    It's such a sensory experience; in its best moments, the film washes over you like a fever dream.
  2. Baltimore Sun
    Reviewed by: Chris Kaltenbach
    88
    A thoughtful, bittersweet film biography of the Cuban writer that captures both his irrepressible spirit and his sometimes overwhelming melancholy.
  3. Chicago Sun-Times
    Reviewed by: Roger Ebert
    88
    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 intriguing strengths
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