Mala Noche

This article is about the 1988 film. For the fictional Florida gang, see CSI: Miami.

Mala Noche
Theatrical release poster
Directed by	Gus Van Sant
Produced by	Gus Van Sant
Written by	Gus Van Sant Walt Curtis (story)
Starring	Tim Streeter Doug Cooeyate Ray Monge Nyla McCarthy
Music by	Creighton Lindsay
Cinematography	John Campbell
Editing by	Gus Van Sant
Distributed by	Gus Van Sant (1988) Janus Films The Criterion Collection (2007)
Release date(s)	May 4, 1988 (US)
Running time	78 min.
Country	United States
Language	English Spanish
Budget	$25,000

Mala Noche (also known as Bad Night) is a 1985 American drama film written and directed by Gus Van Sant, based on an autobiographical novel by the Oregon poet Walt Curtis. The movie was shot in 16 mm, mostly black-and-white. Mala Noche is the first feature film by Gus Van Sant. It was shot entirely on location in Portland, Oregon.

Plot

The story follows relationship between Walt (Tim Streeter), a homosexual store clerk, and two younger Mexican boys, Johnny (Doug Cooeyate) and Roberto Pepper (Ray Monge). Walt and his female friend (Nyla McCarthy) convince them to come over for dinner, but Johnny and Pepper have to return to their cheap hotel because another friend is locked out. Walt makes his first pass at Johnny by offering him $15 to sleep with him. Johnny refuses and runs to his hotel room, leaving Pepper locked out with nowhere to spend the night but Walt's. Settling for second best, Walt lies down next to Pepper and allows him on top for sex. However, he does not give up on trying to win over Johnny. The film progresses from there into not always clearly defined relationships, unbalanced by age, language, race, sexuality, and money.

Cast

• Tim Streeter as Walt Curtis
• Doug Cooeyate as Johnny
• Ray Monge as Roberto Pepper
• Nyla McCarthy as Betty
• Don Chambers as Himself
• Walt Curtis as George

External links

• Mala Noche at the Internet Movie Database
• Mala Noche at AllRovi
• Official French site