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Episodic look at the life of Cuban poet and novelist, Reinaldo Arenas (1943-1990), from his childhood in Oriente province to his death in New York City. He joins Castros rebels. By 1964, he is in Havana. He meets the wealthy Pepe, an early lover; a love-hate relationship lasts for years. Openly gay behavior is a way to spite the government. His writing and homosexuality get him into trouble: he spends two years in prison, writing letters for other inmates and smuggling out a novel. He befriends Lázaro Gomes Garriles, with whom he lives stateless and in poverty in Manhattan after leaving Cuba in the Mariel boat-lift. When asked why he writes, he replies cheerfully, "Revenge."
1964, Havana. has just gotten a job working at the National Library, although he really wants to be a writer, which he has showed great aptitude at since he was a child growing up in the countryside in Oriente province. He is just beginning to acknowledge his homosexual orientation. With the support of like-minded friends, Reinaldo begins to flourish both sexually and artistically, and he becomes a world renowned writer. But by the 1970s, he is feeling more and more repressed by the Cuban authorities, both for his work and his homosexuality, despite he having fought for the Castro led revolutionary forces when he was a teenager. Although he is able to smuggle manuscripts out of Cuba to get published, he himself has a more difficult time trying to get out. The police use any excuse to arrest, detain and or imprison him. In May 1980, he is finally able to leave to the US in a purge by Castro of anyone who doesnt support the regime. But in the US, Reinaldo is plagued by other demons.
Javier Bardem
Reinaldo Arenas
Johnny Depp
Bon Bon
Olatz López Garmendia
Reinaldo's Mother
Giovani Florido
Young Reinaldo
Loló Navarro
Reinaldo's Grandmother
Batan Silva
Reinaldo's Father
Carmen Beato
Teacher
Cy Schnabel
Smallest School Child
Olmo Schnabel
Smallest School Child
Vito Schnabel
Teenage Reinaldo
Pedro Armendáriz Jr.
Reinaldo's Grandfather
Diego Luna
Carlos
Lia Chapman
Lolin
Sean Penn
Cuco Sanchez
Jerzy Skolimowski
Professor
Aquiles Benites
Translator
Ewa Piaskowska
Pretty Blonde Student
Patricia Reyes Spíndola
María Teresa Freye de Andrade
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