User Reviews

'Una Noche', is first time feature director Lucy Mulloy's take on modern day Cuba and its attendant contradictions. Mulloy is New York based but spent a good deal of time in Cuba, learning about its culture. In the first third of the film, before the main plot kicks in, we're introduced to Lila, a teenager living in Havana with her brother Elio and her parents.

Lila serves as both narrator and 'observer' of the action. She is worried about her brother Elio, who has befriended the homophobic Raúl, who both work at a pantry. Elio has developed a secret crush on Raúl, who has dreams of escaping to Miami in order to make a better life for himself.

Mulloy not only sets out to tell a story based on a real-life event, but also give us a feel for what Cuba is like today. The city of Havana appears to be full of run-down buildings and cars from the 1950s, still running on the street. Cuba is still a paternalistic culture, evidenced by its widespread disdain for gay people. We see that when a group of youths on bicycles taunt a gay kid walking on the street.

Raúl's homophobia is also on constant display—in one particular memorable scene, he curses out a prostitute after he discovers she's a transsexual. Raúl also may be typical of the 'macho' type who treats women as sex objects. He's always coming on to Lila who will have none of it, and protects herself by taking Taekwondo lessons. Lila is also alienated when she follows her father and observes him making love to another woman.

It takes a while but the plot gets in gear when Raúl purchases some medication on the black market for his AIDS-infected mother, who works as a prostitute. When he comes home to give her the medication, he finds her having sex with a tourist which enrages him. Raúl assaults the tourist and later we find out that he's wanted by the police since the tourist may actually end up dying (assaulting tourists appears to be a very serious offense, in economically depressed Cuba).

Now Raúl must go the U.S. or else he'll end up rotting in a Cuban prison. Elio, reluctant earlier, now decides to go with Raúl to the U.S. Lila, the perennial observer, confronts Elio in front of Raúl, and begs him not to go with him. When she can't dissuade him, she agrees to help the guys with their makeshift raft. The superstitious Raúl insists on going to a woman who attempts to lift a potential curse the three may be facing, when they're adrift at sea.

The last third of the movie and the dark moment of the second act is when Raúl, Lila and Elio attempt to make it to the U.S. on their flimsy raft. Neither the motor or GPS work, so they're relegated to paddling with tiny oars. I won't give away the ending but suffice it to say, things don't go well for the hapless trio.

Dariel Arrechada steals the show as the rough and surly Raúl. The part of Lila (played by Anailin de la Rua de la Torre) is underdeveloped since her role appears mainly relegated to the part of the narrator. Javier Nuñez Florian does well as the less extroverted Elio, playing off nicely against the more aggressive Raúl. In a major real-life postscript to the film, both actors playing Lila and Elio, ended up defecting to the United States.

Lucy Mulloy is an up and coming director to watch. She has a feel for both the camera and the actors she directs. Mulloy not only captures the troubled nature of Cuban society but also its incredible buoyancy. In her next feature, perhaps it might be a good idea to rely less on narration to move her story along. I have no doubt that Hollywood will be offering this talented director some higher budgeted jobs in the future.

This movie was very attention grabbing. There was a lot of real life struggles and absolutely nothing hidden about the lives of these people. The change in the lives of Elio and his sister, Lila, as they grow up has a huge impact on their lives. They need each other because their family is breaking apart. They want to help their mother but end up leaving her. A friend Elio makes at work changes their lives when he convinces Elio to leave with him to Miami. The movie is based off of a true story and the fact that Elio dies out in the water and Raul and Lila end up back in Cuba with no happy ending. Even in American films based off of true stories they are mini pulsates to end the way the directors would expect the viewers to want. There is no crowd appeal in these films the truth is given with no cushion. Overall I think it was a well acted and well directed film.

I always knew that a large amount of Cubans migrated to Miami over the "90 Mile River", but I never knew how hard it was to leave everything behind. On top of this, the characters in the movie, Elio and Raul go through many hardships while collecting items for their travels. Both characters get in trouble with the law in one way or another. One day, Raul is giving his mother medicine for her AIDS. Since Raul's mother is a prostitute, he walks in on her pleasing a tourist, when the tourist sees Raul, he tries to chase him out the door. The tourist trips and hits his eye on a piece of metal. The tourist goes to the cops and falsely causes Raul of stabbing his eye, and punishment for assaulting a tourist is prison. This makes Raul go on the run for the rest of the movie, always evading the cops. Elio gets in trouble when he steals meat for their journey on the boat. Both Elio and Raul work in a kitchen together, so Elio goes there to steal the meat. The guards catch Elio running away, so he is also running from the police. This really shows the struggles that Cubans have to go through in order to leave the country.

OK for me i was disappointed by the rating of the movie. It had too much graphic sexual content. However, the 3 main characters grew on me and kind of messed me up at the end. It is 24 hours later and I am still thinking about this movie and obsessing over it. It was really realistic except for how easy it was to walk in on someone having sex. I found the sexual content disturbing and overwrought although I get why they did it. This movie should be trimmed for younger viewers. It made me feel like i was in Cuba. I felt the pain and suffering of each of the characters that they highlighted and I understood their desperation. I don't agree with everything that happened but this movie left a mark. It should be redone and re-released here in America and Europe in my opinion with editing to a PG13 rating as the age of the protagonist was 15-16.

Some of the most sought after tickets at Tribeca 2012 were for the triple award winning Una Noche. A number of additional screenings sold out quickly, but there were still long queues of people hopeful to get in.

So did it deserve all the hype? I certainly think so. As a Brit who has lived in Cuba, I think Lucy Mulloy's film captured the best and the worst of Havana perfectly. Beautifully shot in well known landmarks, but also off the beat locations, the film reveals parts of the city not only unfilmed, but rarely accessed by outsiders before. As an energetic ride through one day and night in raw and gritty Havana, Una Noche captures the passion of its people, the despair in their lives, but also the love and laughter they share.

The non-actors performances were stunning, their natural presence and ability to light up the screen justifies the long search Mulloy undertook in Cuban schools to find them. Dariel Arrechada and Javier Nunez Florian shared a much deserved best actor award, proving they are real stars in the making.

Lucy Mulloy fell in love with Cuba ten years ago and this passion shines through the whole film. Based on a true story, ironically the film began a real life drama of it's own when Javier Nunez Florian and Anailin de la Rua de la Torre fled in Miami without even making it to New York for the premiere in a much publicised case of life imitating art. Their defection is another story in itself, what Una Noche does is presents a rare and insightful view of a closely guarded country where many people make the choice of taking to the treacherous ninety miles of water between it and America.

The final act of the journey on a makeshift raft ties everything the film is about together so well, optimistic youth, base human instincts, loyalty vs. selfishness and escape from a claustrophobic life. Una Noche really captures the real heart of Cuba. Having lived there, I was transported back to Havana in a way I've never been since leaving.

I was pretty impressed with this film overall in terms of the camera angles, shooting ideas, etc., but the main plot I felt was kind of weak. They could have elaborated a bit more on that I feel. I also felt like most parts of the film were rather unnecessary. For example when the one guy was masturbating with a dead fish, or when they gay cross dresser started making out with Raul and his penis came flying out across the screen. Scenes like these and the one where the mom was pleasuring the one old guy with oral sex to me were completely useless, as they did not contribute to the plot at all. Some things I did like were the camera angles though. I really liked how the camera went underwater frequently to show the raft from below. I thought it gave the movie a nice eerie aspect. It was also foreshadowing that something bad was going to happen while they were on the raft. I also liked how it showed the sharks underwater and stuff. I found it pretty sad how they just went in a circle and Elio died. That is one thing that does make it obviously not American though, it didn't have a happy ending.

Taking place in Havana, Cuba, Una Noche, directed by Lucy Mulloy depicts the struggle of three individuals before and during their attempt to escape to Miami. Raul, after being accused of assaulting a tourist, is being pursued by the cops and looks towards his best friend Elio to make a quick escape to Miami. Raul does not think twice about leaving Cuba for he just learned that his mom was a prostitute, and he is being tracked by the police. For Elio, leaving is not so easy as he would have to leave behind his close sister, Lila. Lila is a strong teenage girl who holds her own throughout the movie. This movie offers an interesting look into the city of Havana and the culture that thrives in it. From gathering the supplies for the journey to discovering the truth about their parents, Elio and Lila stick together until the end when Elio dies on the journey to Miami. Elio eventually reveals that he is gay, which ruins his friendship with Raul but does not make a difference to his loving sister, Lila. Una Noche is a brilliant film that mixes in modern topics such as the acceptance of gays and the barrier between Cuba and the U.S.. I really enjoyed the overall production of the film as it resulted in a very entertaining film. I would recommend this movie to everyone who enjoys movies.

Una Noche is a very good movie. I'm not completely sure how much I liked it, but there was something to keep track of from the beginning of the movie to the end. *Spoiler Alert* Lila and Raul end up back on Cuba after they attempt to make it to Miami on their raft, but you could only pick up on that by understanding that the same girl that was on vacation in Cuba was on the Jetski that towed them onto the beach. It was a very sad and depressing ending, which reveals that it is everything, but an American Film. Lila, the sister of Elio, had to suffer the pain of losing her brother, Elio, and was still in Cuba. To me it just seemed like a complete waste of time and torture. A shark ate Elio, so Raul and Lila were hoping for the best as they only had a piece of their raft left over to float on. It was sad to think that Elio was suppressed by the people he hung out with to hide that he was gay the whole time. His crush on Raul was the reason for wanting to leave the country in the first place. Not every story has a happy ending, but it was definitely not this one. I would recommend it to all.

Una Noche was probably one of the most entertaining movies I have ever seen because of its intensity. Every scene filled me with fright, surprise, and of course, questions. I think my favorite scene of the movie was the shark attack scene because it scared me (even though I almost saw it coming). The result was unexpected. I did not think Elio would go missing, and I most definitely did not think that Raul and Lila would end up right back in Cuba. Even though this feeling of uncertainty is uncomfortable, it definitely makes the film even better. I would definitely recommend watching this film if you are interested in surprise, mystery, and fast-paced action.

The film starts out with Elio, the brother of the narrator Lila, helping teach her to swim. Next, the director shows the close relationship between the two as they ride through the streets of Havana together on a bike. They seem inseparable, and Lila feels like they are inseparable. Then, Elio meets Raul who it seems that Elio takes a liking to. From that point on, Elio and Raul work in a kitchen of a hotel while preparing to migrate across the ocean 93 miles to Miami. Raul believes his dad is living there and that if they go they will have a better life. I don't think Elio has bought into the "American Dream" but it appears he will do anything for Raul. Raul dreams of driving a fast car and reuniting with is dad. The trip over seas is expedited when Raul is accused of seriously injuring a tourist. Elio drops everything and starts stealing materials to put together a raft. Lila also wants to tag along on the journey because she would do anything for Elio. They attempt to cross the ocean to Miami but don't succeed. Also, in the process Elio seems to be killed by a shark while saving his sister. They end up circling back around to Cuba. The film shows how people have hope for a better life in America but the struggle to get there is great

Una Noche was a very interesting film since it was depicting a true story showing the lives of two young Cuban adults trying to go through the process of illegally leaving the country to enter America. They had many troubles along the way with gathering stuff for the long 90 mile journey to the southern coast of Florida because the way they were obtaining all of their materials was by stealing everything. I thought it was really cool how everyone that could tell that they were planning on leaving didn't care about them trying to leave. Like reporting them to the police so they would get arrested. As soon as the engine on the raft didn't start up I would've turned around and headed back home because it's not really possible to travel 90 miles by paddling. Also when the GPS didn't turn on I would've headed home because it's not possible to paddle in a straight line out at sea with no land references. I would recommend this movie to someone else.

I absolutely loved everything about this film! The characters all had so much depth and complexity, the story line kept you wondering what was going to happen, and the film shots were all very interesting. I have been to Havana, Cuba myself so it was cool to see the story play out there. I think that the director did an amazing job of portraying the hardships and tough decisions that the people of Cuba have to make every day in order to survive. My favorite characters were Lila and Raul. Lila was so much tougher than she seemed in the end, and I felt that she had a lot of respect for herself and for other women despite the fact that she was bullied. I was fascinated by Raul's character and how he developed from a pretty selfish boy to a caring man in a short amount of time. While I loved this movie, there were definitely some scenes that I was not used to seeing at all like the various sex scenes. In American films, sex scenes tend to be more for viewers, and they are much more romanticized; however, in this film the sex scenes were all essential to the plot and none of them were very romantic. Overall, I love this movie and would give it 5/5 stars.

Una Noche was a gripping film about three "friends" trying to escape Cuba for a better life in America. I enjoyed the film because there was phenomenal acting by everyone involved in the production, and I was drawn into the story. Though most of the entire movie was clear, some parts of it were a little strange to me. For instance, when Elio purchases a motor, they never make it clear whether he obtained any gas for it. Perhaps he did and it was just water logged, but that little hole confused me. Also, the ending was a little strange at first. As my class and I were watching the movie, most people thought that Raul and Lila did intact make it to Miami. The directors did a brilliant job in tying in the tourists who were in Cuba, showing that the pair did not in fact reach Miami, but were back in Havana. Unfortunately, it didn't seem very clear to some of my classmates and I admit that I was confused on the subject as well. A subject that was a little strange for me was all of the sex in the movie. I'm assuming that this was to show how the Cuban's passed the time, but it was a little strange. Also, I found it really interesting that the brought in the LGBT community. They showed the reactions of everyone towards gay men in Havana, being called names and insulted. I thought the most powerful example was when Elio kisses Raul. Raul freaks out and can't stop talking about how weird it is, but Lila seems to understand Elio and even sympathizes with him.