Mala Noche (1988)

Tied for the best movie I have ever seen

What a freaking movie. So many twists and turns. Absolutely intense from start to finish.

While it doesn't offer any answers, it both thrills and makes you think.

The movie's not perfect, but it sticks the landing of its message. It was engaging - thrilling at times - and I personally thought it was a great time.

"Mala Noche" is a treatise on the foolishness of someone who thinks is in love with somebody. We've all been there, or at least most of us have all been there. The longings, the desire, the attraction and with those comes the most stupid, reckless and inconsequential acts and thoughts of trying to reach the desired person when one already knows nothing can happen between both because of reasons, as we say now. In this case, the main character Walt (Tim Streeter) falls desperately in love with a Mexican boy (Doug Cooeyate) and the whole film is a small journey into following the many dumb attempts of Johnny catching the boy's attention and affection, often refused or played against him. In a humdrum town where almost nothing ever happens, this 16 year-old kid coming into Walt's store is a big event in his life, everything seems to change. He sees as a positive thing, we as audience don't. He's too absorbed and infatuated with this boy who doesn't speak his language but understand his moves on him, to which he avoids time and time again, yet he's always there to help him or help his friends - in one of those "lucky" days he manages to sleep with one of them. Nothing good comes from those acts yet he's obstinate, headstrong is a more suitable adjective, definitely a pigheaded. That's what life is all about. That's what romantic novels, pop songs and so many films teaches us: never give up on the one you love. However, the limit established here is: there's always a time to stop, move with your life and analyze better what you're doing. One can't find someone else to love and adore.Crude, a little humorous though with a very imperceptible humor, sorely depressing, sad as a whole. "Mala Noche" ("Bad Night") is less of a love story and more of a desperate run to find a true love but it all goes to show the embarrassing ways of getting to someone who's only interested in taking advantage of this person. Tim is almost like Cabiria always waiting for the love of her life except he goes after this kid who pushes him away, changes of subject, teases him a bit. He doesn't realize he's confusing love with lust. It's an excellent film debut for Gus Van Sant but also a strange one certainly. He doesn't crave for our attention, he gets it quite easily by telling a very simple story in a simple way, engaging despite the whole melancholia, and on a non-hurried short time (70 minutes) and in a stylistically black-and-white, always uncertain and darker just like the characters hidden intentions, occulting the foreseeable sense of danger. It's not all sadness, there's some great erotic scenes, amazingly well-filmed despite its restrained conventions with the lack of color. But here's something: why would someone would like to expose that story to an audience of watchers and readers - this was based on an autobiographical novel by Walt Curtis - or let me say this better, why would someone would like to expose his tragedy for others to see? I say that both Sant and Curtis by sharing this with us are following D.H.Lawrence or Rainer Werner Fassbinder's school of thought: to use art to say this is what will happen if you follow into this direction. They reprehend and advise without doing so, a warning sign that isn't preachy or too moral like the classical literatures and the "Hays Code movies", that's why I like those works. That's the primal and ultimate purpose and value, no more and no less. It isn't the jolliest of the experiences but it's a powerful and effective artistic expression. And of course, it's Independent Cinema at its greatest, being real, humane, convincing and authorial. 10/10

There are few gay, or straight, films which fling such disturbed and desperate lead characters into the sparkly gutter like Mala Noche. That summary is trite at best, but to watch this movie is to fall into a film noir which won't give you any love back. Excellent and gobsmackingly short-ish cash register rings of warning. Don't embrace these sickly, nasty characters, but do get enveloped. You can't help it. Everyone sucks, everyone is dirty, nasty, and sadly dreamy. Gus made a gorgeous pile of human stink with this one, and it is completely addictive. Fabulous film. Gus Van Sant may have jumped the shark with some later stuff, but this, boy, this is good. Fans of grit say: Must see.

OK, granted: The movie was filmed in the early or mid 80's I think, and you might even claim that the latino talent pool was not as big back then as it is now. But C"MON! The guys who were cast as the young Mexican homeless boys were HORRIBLE! Spanish is my first language and I could tell that the actors who portrayed JOhny and Robert were not fluent at all in Spanish which for this film it is a MAJOR point since they re supposed not to speak English. I guess that explains the reason why when Johny had dialogue, the camera was not on him, and the times when he spoke and the camera was on him there was no sync. I am 100 percent sure that they used someone else's voice ( a bad actor's at that) to do the voice over for Johny. For someone who speaks Spanish it was PAINFUL to listen to the monotone, emotion-deprived delivery of the lines. I don't know under what circumstances these two horrible actors were cast but I am sure the director did not do a thorough audition process to get the best actors. The actor who played Robert was better at ATTEMPTING to sound better in Spanish. I still don't know if he was fluent in Spanish, which it sounds like he was. And if he was then he was just saying the grammatically incorrect lines given to him by the director without complaining about not being correct. One of the examples is when he is being harassed by the white guy. Roberto says:" Para. No me molesto". Translated that means: " Stop. It doesn't bother me".or " Stop. I don't get bothered". Im sure the intention of the writer was: " Stop. Don't bother me" which should've been: "Para. No me molestes". The only character that spoke good Spanish was the guy who was telling the story of how they crossed the border. And I could bet the reason that being is because probably he really went thru that and he was just being interviewed ( he did not NEED to act)I doubt that was scripted. That part when he's talking, it totally threw me out of the movie, because it had a documentary feel to it and then to go back into the bad acting was like, disconnected. Among other things,it was torture when they had the Spanish speakers dialogue on the background. They kept on repeating the same dialogue over and over and over again! same lines over and over! I guess it would work for non-Spanish speakers, because they just hear a foreign language and they have no idea whats being said. But when you understand the language you get so frustrated that you wanna throw a shoe at the TV and make it shut up. I really like Gus Van Sant's directing but I have no idea, and im very curious to know what pressed or forced Mr Gus Van Sant to cast these horrible actors. Was it pressure from the producers, or did he honestly think these guys were the BEST?

Mala Noche is kind of "a month in the life of" Walt, played by Tim Streeter, who is fawning over Johnny, (Doug Cooeyate) a Mexican who hangs around Walt's store. It's touching, sad, and frustrating to watch as Walt keeps throwing himself at Johnny, and is constantly rebuffed. Walt, who is the caregiver to just about everyone he meets, spouts life philosophy and seems to enjoy the thrill of the chase in the gritty side of town. At the same time, it's refreshing to see a film from 20 years ago treat gay characters and relationships with respect, and to give them "normal" lines without resorting to stereotypes. Oddly, Ray Monge, who plays Roberto, a friend of Johnny, is the only one has has had more than one or two roles listed in their career, and he has just four roles listed. Some neat little touches, like the bottle on a string that pulls the door closed like a spring, Walt greeting everyone on the street, and the driving lesson gone wrong. Interesting interview with van Sant on the DVD from janus/Criterion, where he explains how it was made from Curtis' story. A little offbeat and rough, but fun to watch.