Mala Noche

$29.95 retail or rent it

Before catapulting himself to indie film fame with Drugstore Cowboy and My Own Private Idaho, Gus Van Sant made his feature film debut with Mala Noche ("Bad Night") in 1985. Until now it has never had a proper home video release - it was only available on bootlegs of indubitably crappy quality.

On October 9 the Criterion Collection DVD edition hits the streets, complete with a storyboard gallery, the original trailer, a laid-back 2007 video interview with Van Sant and a documentary about Walt Curtis, the Oregon beat poet who wrote the source material. The digital transfer is pristine, showcasing the dramatic interplay of light and darkness throughout the film.

Filled with haunting imagery and clever camera work, Mala Noche is a film of undeniable cinematic merit, and several visual motifs (time-lapse transitional shots of moving clouds, for instance) later made their way into signature Van Sant films like My Own Private Idaho. Watch Mala Noche for proof that Gus was a talented stylist from the get-go, but don't expect the expert dialogue and great character development that distinguish many of his later scripts.

Though it's impressive that he took on a gritty aspect of gay culture and didn't pander to mainstream audiences, the story seriously drags in several places, and the mediocre acting doesn't make it any easier to warm up to the material. Based on Walt Curtis's memoir, the plot follows a white male convenience store clerk in his efforts to win the heart (or, if necessary, buy the sexual favors of) an illegal Mexican immigrant. Filmed in the grittiest district in Portland, Oregon, an area which - despite its proximity to some of the city's priciest real estate - is still home to several transient hotels and soup kitchens.