it sucks. Plain and simple. Why didn't the protagonist leave Cuba when he had the chance? Why was he so stupid as to go to the police in the era of hatred in which he lived? And why exactly was he so bent on killing himself?

These aren't problems with the story, which I'm sure is very true to the writer's life. They're questions I have with his life, which I doubt merited being retold in this film. I spent half the movie wondering why the hell he was still in Cuba, and the other half of the movie waiting for him to die or be killed or die. Really, a very bad movie. If you want hope or sorrow or laughter or tragedy or anything, don't watch this movie. If you want to suffer through a vague politico-serio-tragedy, then "Before Night Falls" will do it.