Mala Noche **** (1986, Tim Streeter, Doug Cooeyate, Ray Monge) – Classic Movie Review 9,545

Gus Van Sant’s hilarious 1986 debut film Mala Noche stars Tim Strecter as a gay shop clerk, who falls head-over-heels for a teenaged illegal Mexican migrant worker (Doug Cooeyate).

Writer-director Gus Van Sant’s hilarious 1986 fable of illicit love and muddled lifestyles Mala Noche stars Tim Strecter as gay shop clerk Walt Curtis, who falls head-over-heels for a teenaged illegal Mexican migrant worker, Johnny Alonzo (Doug Cooeyate). Johnny speaks no English and finds Walt weird.

Shot in Portland, Oregon, on a shoestring budget, on 16 mm and in black and white, Mala Noche is a film that crackles with wit, originality and energy, marking Van Sant out as a director of undeniable talent, here making his first film.

It is written by Gus Van Sant, based on the real-life Walt Curtis’s 1977 autobiographical story Mala Noche: And Other “Illegal” Adventures.

Walt Curtis, who came up with the story, also plays George. Gus Van Sant has a cameo as Guy at Hotel.

It is the winner of the 1987 Los Angeles Film Critics award for best independent film of 1986.

Also in the cast are Ray Monge as Roberto Pepper, Nyla McCarthy as Betty, Don Chambers as himself, and Sam Downey.

Its budget was $25,000, it grossed $25,386 in the US, and took $62,743 worldwide.

It premiered at the Berlin International Film Festival in February 1986 and later screened at Edinburgh International Film Festival.

Release date: May 4, 1988 (US).

Mala Noche is directed by Gus Van Sant, runs 78 minutes, is made by Northern Film, is written by Gus Van Sant, based on Walt Curtis’s 1977 story Mala Noche: And Other “Illegal” Adventures, is shot in black and white by John J Campbell, is produced by Gus Van Sant, and is scored by Creighton Lindsay.

Mala Noche is Spanish for Bad Night, an alternative title for the film.

It is now part of the Criterion Collection.

Walt Curtis (July 4, 1941 – August 25, 2023)

American poet, novelist, and painter from Portland, Oregon, Walt Curtis died on August 25, 2023, at the age of 82.

© Derek Winnert 2020 Classic Movie Review 9,545

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