Solidrariol Am I Missing Something?

FuzzyTagz If the ambition is to provide two hours of instantly forgettable, popcorn-munching escapism, it succeeds.

Grimossfer Clever and entertaining enough to recommend even to members of the 1%

ChanFamous I wanted to like it more than I actually did... But much of the humor totally escaped me and I walked out only mildly impressed.

KobusAdAstra 'Mala Noche' is a classy movie, mostly filmed in black-and-white, about an Oregon young gay shop worker, Walt, who falls in love with a vagrant and illegal migrant, a young Mexican lad, Johnny. And how does he fall in love! He gets run in by the scheming young man and his other illegal migrant Mexican buddies, but is blinded by his feelings for the lad. They move in with Walt, taking over his apartment. To make matters worse, they don't speak English and nor does he speak Spanish. While he chirps pleasantries to his new (one-sided) love, they make fun of him, the "puto (queer) Grinko". That while they are happily abusing his hospitality. But how would it end for our naive lover?The acting by Tim Streeter as Walt and DougCooeyate, Ray Monge and Sam Downey as the Mexicans is excellent. The cinematography is particularly good and some of the best I have ever seen with any black-and-white film. The contrast between dark and light is stark and enhances the film's art-house qualities.I had a look at the interview made with Van Sant (20 years after completion of the film) that accompanies the DVD, and it is quite illuminating. Van Sand made this movie, his first serious attempt at film-making, on a meagre $20,000 budget. He could not afford the much more expensive colour film, and had to settle for black-and-white. He could not afford the large numbers of expensive lights needed and had to settle with only one light for his many indoor shots. That explains the stark contrast between dark and light, with little gray in-between. Although not intentional, it, in my view, made the photography even better. I score this impressive indie film an excellent 8/10.

moonspinner55 Director Gus Van Sant's first film, a 78-minute, independently-financed drama shot in high-contrast black-and-white, which Van Sant also produced, edited, and wrote (from a story by Walt Curtis, which happens to be the leading character's name). The plot--about a gay cashier in a liquor store who befriends two Mexican teenagers on the run from Immigration--is more sexually upfront than Van Sant's "My Own Private Idaho" from 1991, but this no-budget effort has even less meat on its bones (and less on its mind). Stylishly rendered with an artistic eye, but dramatically it doesn't hold together (the cashier, having been sternly rebuffed by the heterosexual boy he's "in love" with, keeps trying to win his affection, which doesn't make him seem desperate so much as deluded). The performances are uneven, and the action during a police raid is rendered nearly incoherent by Van Sant's sloppy compositions and editing; still, there's an atmosphere and an ambiance about the picture that stays with one, and the director's attentive eyes give hint of his burgeoning talent. *1/2 from ****

RainDogJr Some time ago, like two years ago to be more or less exact, I was into the films of director Gus Van Sant. I got to see a few of his, not counting his latest film Milk that was released just last year, 12 feature films. I got to see Drugstore Cowboy, Finding Forrester, Elephant (my favourite of him so far), Last Days and Paranoid Park. As I often remark in my IMDb comments, I'm one of the fans of the truly amazing Criterion Collection and two Van Sant films are part of the collection, two of his first ones: Mala Noche (his very first one, released in 1985) and My Own Private Idaho (released back in 1991, two years after the release of Drugstore Cowboy). It was about time to finally check out the Criterion Van Sant titles and while not on the Criterion DVD today I saw Mala Noche (and I will renting as soon as I can the Criterion DVD of My Own Private Idaho, which is one of the most acclaimed films of Van Sant. And by the way, if you go to the website of Criterion you will find the lists of favourite Criterion titles of people like Richard Linklater, John Lurie,. "Idaho"is part of the list of Steve Buscemi, James Franco, so is more acclaim, more for me to finally check out that 1991 film).

BandofInsiders As the stagnant state of films in the 1980's was still in its inevitable decline the emergence of a new breed of American independent directors saw this as a moment full of opportunity. Gus Van Sant decided to turn his camera on the outcasts of a small Portland neighborhood and create an intimate portrait of 3 young men at an important turning point in their lives. Not only is Mala Noche an influential example of 1980's independent cinema it also serves as a milestone for the New Queer Cinema that would become more prevalent in the 1990's. Gus Van Sant's stark debut would serve as a blueprint for many directors to come. Mala Noche focuses on convenience store worker Walt's and his infatuation with a young immigrant Jonny who is fresh off riding the rails from Mexico with his friend Pepper. From the film's first scene its unabashed open "gayness" lets the viewer know what they are in for. Van Sant makes no attempt to justify his films openly gay stance instead he embraces it and explores the beauty and darkness that accompany it. Walt and Johnny coexist solely based on their parasitic relationship. Walt gushes romanticized convictions for a boy he knows little about, such as "I want to drink this Mexican boy" or "I have to show him that I'm gay for him." While Johnny uses Walt for a house to crash and the occasional joy ride in his car. At the same time both are uncomfortable with their personal situation but can't help to hold on to what they have left.John Campbell's bleak camera work adds a lot to the look of the seedy underbelly of Portland almost as if it could have been shot as a documentary. Mala Noche is one the few films that benefits from working on such a small budget. It gives the viewer a sense that Van Sant was truly in touch on a deeper level with his subjects than just an "actor/director" level. Ultimately Mala Noche is a profound representation of America's emerging "gay" cinema and an important document of Portland in the mid 1980's. Gus Van Sant would go onto make stronger films but this fascinating debut will show he has shown a strong passion for his films and his subjects right from the beginning.