Author Reinaldo Arenas lived life passionately. Not always an easy feat in Castro's Cuba. Unabashedly homosexual, Arenas found plenty of opportunities to celebrate and explore his lust for life in the early days of the revolution in Cuba. But as the government began to tighten its grip on society, Arenas became an outlaw, thanks both to his art and his sexual orientation.

In "Before Night Falls," director and artist Julian Schnabel ("Basquiat") tells the story of Arenas' life, drawing upon the author's eponymous autobiographical book and on his novels "Hallucinations," "The Color of Summer" and "The Palace of the White Skunks."

Growing up in the country, Arenas -- played by Javier Bardem ("Live Flesh," "Jamon, Jamon") -- lived in deep poverty amid a stunning tropical backdrop. It is this same contrast that recurs throughout Arenas life.

After moving to the city of Holguin, he joins the anti-Batista rebels, and when the revolution succeeds, Arenas celebrates. He attends university in Havana and takes a job in the National Library.

Arenas' work becomes noticed and his first novel, "Singing from the Well," appears at the age of 20. It would be his only book published in Cuba.

Soon after, the government begins to crackdown on dissidents, artists and homosexuals and Arenas continued to write, despite the danger. His outspokenness and the publication of his second novel abroad draws official wrath.

Even after a stint in a horrific prison, Arenas' spirit remains vibrant and alive. Arenas emigrates to the United States as part of the Mariel boatlift in 1980 but his problems don't disappear.

Schnabel does a fine job of juxtaposing the chiaroscuro of Arenas' life, capturing in vivid color the startling natural beauty of the author's homeland and the dark days of the Cuban crackdowns.

Bardem, also, shines thanks to his ability to portray a man who can whoop it up without fear while government forces are searching him out. But Bardem doesn't draw a picture of a mindless and relentless party animal, rather he shades in Arenas' character with flashbacks recalling his mother and his childhood, his eyes painting a poignant picture of longing and regret.

American audiences will be interested to see Sean Penn as a dimwitted country bumpkin and Johnny Depp in two roles: a transvestite smuggling things in and out of prison in his body cavities and tough-talking, sadistic Lieutenant Victor.

"Before Night Falls" won the Jury Grand Prize at the Venice International Film Festival and Bardem earned the Best Actor nod there. You'll see why when you see it for yourself.

Grade: A

"Before Night Falls" opens at Landmark's Downer Theatre, Fri., Feb. 2.