Reinaldo Arenas In Before Night Falls

Before Night Falls is a biopic that chronicles Reinaldo Arenas’ life in Cuba as a writer and a homosexual. Arenas was an important figure not only for his achievements in his literature but also for his dissident homosexuality. He felt that being who he was as a gay in Cuba was a form of social protest. Arenas dealt with a lot of repression while living in Cuba. Through the portrayal of Reinaldo Arenas by his actor Javier Bardem and through the use of Johnny Depp’s two characters, Before Night Falls shows that it is extremely difficult and terrifying to have been a homosexual or artist in Cuba under Castro. This can also be seen in an excerpt from Arenas’ memoir titled Before Night Falls. By looking at what Ernesto “Che” Guevara had in mind …show more content…
Arenas and Pepe are stared at in disgust as they wrestle in the sand. It is clear they are not just wrestling because they are mad. This scene depicts the discrimination that occurs towards homosexuals. After Pepe storms off, Arenas goes to find the two boys and ends up getting a policeman to help him. When Arenas points out the boys, they tell the policeman that Arenas molested them. Without a thought or a chance for Arenas to help himself, the policeman arrest him and brings him to jail. This shows the oppression that the Cuban people had towards homosexuals. Arenas did not even have the chance to make a case for himself. He was scared and felt he did not belong in jail. He ended up escaping and he jumped into water. Arenas spent a lot of his time with his friends in the film at the beach and in places where there is water. This can be symbolic of the fact that he is trying to figure himself out and every time he comes out of the water he is reborn anew, no matter how many times he does this. After escaping, he ends up washing up on the shore and coming out of the water, seeming like he is going to change the way he is living. He looks as though he has been reborn and is going to live a better life now, even if he is a wanted man. Arenas’ character is portrayed with fear but also hope in these scenes up until …show more content…
Johnny Depp plays two characters in this film and they both hold importance when looking at how the homosexual community is treated in Castro’s Cuba. The first character that is introduced, Bon Bon, is a drag queen transvestite who is very promiscuous. He flaunts himself around the prison and is wearing inviting clothing that gives little imagination to the eye. He struts around and flirts with all the men in prison. Johnny Depp’s other character is a man who is a part of the Cuban military. He is a very masculine, sadistic, closeted homosexual. He is depicted interrogating Arenas. When he is questioning Arenas, he is being very suggestive. He is seen touching his private areas in a way that makes Arenas look uncomfortable. He gives Arenas a choice and Arenas ends up not taking it. The scariest part of the entire scene is when he pulls a gun out on Arenas and puts it to his head. He threatens Arenas and assaults him with the gun. He sticks it into Arenas’ mouth and then pulls the trigger, showing it is not loaded. Arenas is obviously very scared and begins to shake in fear. The lieutenant seems to be the type of person who enjoys seeing someone cower in fear because of them. He is very different from the other character Bon Bon. If a spectrum is shown from being very openly gay to being extremely closeted, Bon Bon would be at one end and the lieutenant of the Cuban