The perks of having an online video renting membership is finding movies that I’ve never heard of before and discovering that I’ve been missing out on so much and learning that I have so much more to take in. If that makes any sense. I’m really bad with run-ons.

Julian Schnabel’s Before Night Falls is an example of this. I had no expectations of it and after watching it, I’m completely flustered as to why Schnabel hasn’t made more films. He’s so good.The film chronicles the life of the Cuban writer Reinaldo Arenas. It’s also a portrait of an intolerant country whose hypocritical political agendas severely affected it’s people. There is a luminous quality to the way Schnabel uses light that makes the movie less gritty to look at. It’s a great cinematography feat he has come to perfect in The Diving Bell and Butterfly. For me, the  incorporation of daylight so aesthetically pleasing to the eye gives off a sense of hope to an already devastating subject matter. Anyway. Check it out on your own time. Bonus points if you can spot Spicoli and Johnny Depp’s ass.

{Translation}
Passing through the exploding streets,
since the pipes are ready to give out passing around the buildings,
we need to dodge,since they are falling onto us,
between the hostile faces scrutinizing and sentencing us,
between the closed establishments,closed markets,closed movie theaters,closed parks,closed cafés.
Exhibiting already dusty signs (justifications) occasionally,
CLOSED FOR REFORMS,CLOSED FOR REPARATION.
What kind of reparation?
When will this alleged reform end?
When at least will it begin?..
Closed… closed… closed…everything closed…
I arrive and open the innumerable locks,run up the improvised stairwell.
There she is waiting for me.
I discover her,remove the canvas and contemplate her dusty and cold dimensions.
I get rid of the dust and caress her.
With the slightest brushes from my palms,I clean her back,her base,her sides.
I feel desperate, happy,at her side,before her,I run my hands over her keys,and rapidly,everything is set in motion.
The ta ta, the jingling,the music start…