Before Night Falls

I really enjoyed the film on the life of the Cuban writer/poet Reinaldo Arenas. Although I truly admire Fidel Castro and his communist way of life in Cuba, I was definitely appalled to realize some of the realiities of the treatment of homosexuals. However, aside from that aspect of the movie, I found Reinaldo Arenas' story to be horrific and in many disturbing to see how the United States and many societies internationally treat HIV/AIDS victims. Until Magic Johnson overcame an epic battle with this virus, it seems as though our society up until the 1990s was very one-sided and mistreated victims of a terrible disease. Beyond these social realities, I also liked what was read of Arenas' works, and I thought his writing was very profound too.