Mala Noche (1985)

User Rating:

7.0/10   

Director:

Gus Van Sant

Writers:

Walt Curtis (story)
Gus Van Sant (writer)

Release Date:

19 June 1987 (West Germany)

Genre:

Drama

Plot:

A story of amour fou. Walt is madly in love/lust with a young illegal Mexican immigrant. "I wanna show this Mexican kid that I'm gay for him"...

Plot Keywords:

Mexican | Immigrant | Gay | Money | Migrant Worker

Awards:

2 wins

Cast

Tim Streeter	...	Walt Curtis
Doug Cooeyate	...	Johnny
Ray Monge	...	Roberto Pepper
Nyla McCarthy	...	Betty
Sam Downey	...	Hotel Clerk
Robert Lee Pitchlynn	...	Drunk Man (as Bob Pitchlynn)
Eric Pedersen	...	Policeman
Marty Christiansen	...	Barfriend
George Conner	...	Wino (as Bad George Connor)
Don Chambers	...	Himself
Walt Curtis	...	George
Kenny Presler	...	Street Hustler
Conde Benavides	...	Arcade Amigo
Cristo Stoyos	...	Greek Singer
Matt Cooeyate	...	Boxcar Amigo

Also Known As:

Bad Night

Runtime:

78 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English | Spanish

Color:

Color | Black and White

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Portugal:M/16 | Sweden:7 | South Korea:15 | Australia:M

Filming Locations:

Portland, Oregon, USA

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "At the Movies: Summer Special 2008/09" (2008)

Soundtrack:

Guaguaanco

Mala Noche

'Mala Noche': is it just me, or do these words sound beautiful together? As a native Portuguese speaker (English is my second language), it's funny for me to realize that those beautiful-sounding words mean, plainly, "bad night". I guess Gus Van Sant also thought they sounded much nicer in Spanish, and didn't call his debut film "Bad Night".

"Mala Noche" is based on an autobiographical novel by Walt Curtis (played by Tim Streeter), the young manager of a liquor store who falls in love with a Mexican lad (Doug Cooyeate), an illegal immigrant who doesn't speak English. Shot in black-and-white 16MM for only $25,000, the film lacks the wholesomeness of Van Sant's following movies, more notably his masterpiece, "My Own Private Idaho" (1991). The acting varies from mediocre (Streeter) to plain bad (Cooyeate and most of the supporting cast), but in spite of the below par actors and the extremely low budget, Van Sant managed to create some beautiful scenes, already demonstrating his raw sense of street-life poetry. Creighton Lindsay is responsible for a sensitive music score. In spite of its flaws, "Mala Noche" deserves to be seen by those who admire the work of one of the most influential and daring American indie filmmakers. 8/10.