Mala Noche (1986)

So much average

Fantastic!

Fun premise, good actors, bad writing. This film seemed to have potential at the beginning but it quickly devolves into a trite action film. Ultimately it's very boring.

This is one of the best movies I’ve seen in a very long time. You have to go and see this on the big screen.

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.

MALA NOCHE is a low budget, grainy black and white film from 1986 by the estimable director Gus Van Sant and has been considered important enough to include in The Criterion Collection. While it is based on a true story by Portland writer Walt Curtis, Van Sant is responsible for the screen play as well as the direction and editing of this little film. It may not be a polished gem, but it has many of the ingredients and honesty that have subsequently made Gus Van Sant one of our more important film director (Drugstore Cowboy, My Own Private Idaho, Finding Forrester, Milk, To Die For, Good Will Hunting, etc). It deserves its placement in the Criterion Collection. The scenario is simple: Walt (Tim Streeter) is a convenience store worker who becomes infatuated with illegal immigrant Johnny (Doug Cooeyate) and his friend Pepper (Ray Monge) who have just arrived by rail in Portland. The setting is sensual and Walt manages to satisfy his desires with the emotionally needy and impecunious Johnny. It is a fit for them both, though Walt seeks to make the relationship go deeper than the superficial physical encounters. It is a push pull situation and the beauty of the film is the manner in which Van Sant manages to allow us to see both sides of the story. John J. Campbell provides the steamy, crackling photography and Creighton Lindsay heightens the mood with his musical score. It is early Van Sant but it is a solid little start. Grady Harp

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).

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.