Last Friday I attended Rose House’s showing of the film Before Night Falls. This was a movie I had heard a lot about before having seen it, and was greatly looking forward to it. Despite all the build-up, however, it absolutely met and exceeded all of my expectations. When watching this movie, I think it’s important to come at it with the mindset that this story (while likely dramatized to some extent) is real. It’s not supposed to be clean, it’s not supposed to be concise, there is not supposed to be closure. It’s the biography of a man who went through hell and then some, yet still managed to overcome it all in order to get his story out there.

Perhaps my favorite part about this film is just how many different perspectives it provides. It encompasses the perspective of a Cuban during the time when its borders were closed; it encompasses the perspective of a gay man during the 20th century; it encompasses the perspective of a stateless immigrant lost in the jungle that is New York City. I think it’s incredibly important to hear and learn from these perspectives. As someone who has been given a lot of opportunities in life, at times it can be difficult to keep in mind just how far that privilege has taken me. Seeing Reinaldo Arenas suffer through years in prison—especially having done nothing wrong to deserve it in the first place—yet still remain his passion for poetry and writing was incredibly empowering. I cannot begin to imagine moral strength that must have taken, and it is something I can only hope to emulate in my own life someday. I highly recommend this movie to anyone who has yet to see it.