Van Sant’s First Victory

Director Gus Van Sant brought Matt Dillon’s sexy back with Drugstore Cowboy, gave us Keanu Reeves’s most lifelike performance in My Own Private Idaho, gifted us with Sean Connery’s phrase “You’re the man now, dog” in Finding Forrester, and introduced the world to the toothsome Bostonians Ben Affleck and Matt Damon in the timeless Good Will Hunting. But before any of those big-name Hollywood projects, Van Sant made his name with an artsy, haunting, groundbreaking 1985 film called Mala Noche.

The tale of hopeless love between a gay liquor store employee and a Mexican immigrant wowed the festival circuit and introduced the world to Van Sant’s unabashed, gritty, and sensual story lines. “It’s very beautiful. The colors are so lush and saturated. It’s an art film and an important seminal work,” says Kareem Tabsch, festival director for the Miami Gay and Lesbian Film Festival (MGLFF). “You’re not going to see this anywhere else on the big screen.” Catch it at 7:30 tonight at the Byron Carlyle Theater. Tickets cost $12. Buy them online at www.mglff.com or by phone at 305-531-2117.
Wed., Aug. 29, 7:30 p.m.