Mala Noche

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Mala Noche

1987,

1h 15m,

Drama

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Watchlist

96%

25 Reviews

Tomatometer

64%

1,000+ Ratings

Popcornmeter

96%

Tomatometer

25 Reviews

64%

Popcornmeter

1,000+ Ratings

Walt (Tim Streeter) is a lonely convenience store clerk who has fallen in love with a Mexican migrant worker named Johnny (Doug Cooeyate). Though Walt has little in common with the ambivalent object of his affections -- including a shared language -- his desire to possess Johnny prompts a sexual awakening that results in taboo trysts and a tangled love triangle. This twisted tale of love gone wild is based on Walt Curtis' provocative autobiographical novel.

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Critics Consensus

Mala Noche is a raw and gritty portrait of desire, doomed romance, and rejection -- and marks debuting director Gus Van Sant as a filmmaker with a gratifyingly personal touch.

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Rob Humanick

Slant Magazine

Nov 5, 2007

4/4

Gritty, dirty, lyrical, altogether sensual.

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Wesley Morris

Boston Globe

Jun 15, 2007

3/4

Of all Van Sant's movies, Mala Noche is the rawest, most personal, and least freighted. It's the one fans should see for the simplest inkling into Van Sant's complex artistic roots.

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Melissa Anderson

Time Out

Jun 2, 2007

4/6

Van Sant would later refine some of the blunter stylistic turns into a wondrous visual poetry; his ability to capture the addictive pull of desire, however, remains compelling even in its crudest state.

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Kathy Fennessy

Seattle Film Blog

Dec 14, 2025

3.5/4

Sensitive, but never sentimental, it's the work of a born filmmaker.

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Nicholas Deutsch

Gay Community News (Boston)

Aug 22, 2022

Mala Noche is both funny and melancholy. All in all, an accomplished first feature film.

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Bernard Welt

Washington Blade

May 24, 2022

This moody, black-and-white production is a classic example of what one used to call the “art film”: confusing in places, and often tedious and sophomoric, but with flashes of originality and beauty.

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Feb 1, 2019

The best romance movie ever made!

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Gus Van Sant

Director

Tim Streeter

Streeter

Doug Cooeyate

Johnny

Ray Monge

Roberto Pepper

Walt Curtis

Writer

Gus Van Sant

Writer

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Synopsis

Walt (Tim Streeter) is a lonely convenience store clerk who has fallen in love with a Mexican migrant worker named Johnny (Doug Cooeyate). Though Walt has little in common with the ambivalent object of his affections -- including a shared language -- his desire to possess Johnny prompts a sexual awakening that results in taboo trysts and a tangled love triangle. This twisted tale of love gone wild is based on Walt Curtis' provocative autobiographical novel.

Director: Gus Van Sant
Producer: Gus Van Sant
Screenwriter: Walt Curtis, Gus Van Sant
Genre: Drama
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Jun 19, 1987, Original
Release Date (Streaming): Mar 23, 2017
Runtime: 1h 15m

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