Saw "Before Night Falls" last night.
An important film. A true story, it taught me a lot about Cuban history. And while it followed the life of gay writer Reinaldo Arenas, it managed to show that his persecution was part of a larger campaign against the intelligentsia.
The screeplay uses an interesting approach of showing both what really happened and the fantasies, thoughts, and hopes in the mind of Arenas as well. Similar to BBM's use of the "tire iron" story: did that happen, or only what Ennis thought happened? That kind of thing runs through "Before Night Falls" and it can be a bit bewildering at times trying to sort out what was what. But this is not a criticism; the technique involves you in the story and lets you in on Arenas' thought process.
I recognized Johnny Depp in both of his cameo roles, but missed Sean Penn entirely. I'll be looking for him during my second viewing.
I'm very happy to have this film in my collection.