Four Moons

This is one of the most enjoyable gay themed movies I've watched. In "Cuatro Lunas" everything is near perfection - the plots of the four stories, the characters, the actors, the music, the editing and the cinematography. The direction is excellent as well. But what really excels is its power to grab and thrill the viewer with stories that are as simple as those of their own life. While mainstream cinema need to thrill with fantastic, complex and sometimes implausible plots, "Cuatro Lunas" shows life as simple, strange and painful as it really is for each one of us. This is one of the 5 best gay themed movies I've watched, and I've already watched a bunch of them.

The synopsis is that we have four stories that are told in a linear narrative of four very separate and very different relationships. We have two old friends who had lost contact and get reunited and it is more than friendship that is rekindled. A young boy who falls for his cousin and he knows it is wrong for him to act on his impulses but the attraction is too strong.

There is also the story of an ageing and married poet who falls for a rent boy at the local sauna and the very real story of a couple who have been together where one feels it has gone very stale and does something about it. The link to the four tales are all about love and acceptance and are all about gay relationships.

To say anymore runs the risk of revealing the plot(s). However, there is so much crammed in here and not a single frame is wasted. It is at times painful, moving, touching and even funny. I was glued to the screen after a few minutes. It is 110 minutes long but feels much shorter and is in Spanish with the odd English thrown in and the sub titles are very good. This is from director Sergio Tovar Velarde and I tried t get hold of some of his other work and sadly not available in the UK. He made this in 2014 and has not made one since. I sincerely hope he does very soon – this is simply a fantastic film that I can only commend.

in fact, not only for the stories . but for science to transform each in universal message. in the most delicate/inspired manner. for the acting. and for the feeling to discover every day cases just from the next street. for the web of ages, options and wise solutions. for the image of vulnerability of characters who transforms the film not in a pledge/ portrait /lesson /manifesto but in scenes from reality. a film who seduces. for the rare and admirable manner to be more than a film about a community. for the courage to be different. and to not looking a precise target. because, more than love stories, each level is a sketch of self definition. out of rules. out of ambition to give the right way. and that transforms Four Moons in a real special movie.

We are treated to four different yet interwoven stories; the common denominator being that they deal with being gay and gay relationships.

In one story we meet an elderly closeted gay poet, Joaquín (Alonso Echánove); he is married, with a seemingly happy wife and daughters. He is smitten by a young male prostitute, Gilberto (Alejandro Belmonte) he meets in a bath-house.

In a second story we get an example of a long-term (ten year) gay relationship that is starting to fall apart. Unfaithful Hugo (Antonio Velásquez) is involved in an affair with another man. His sensitive partner, Andrés (Alejandro de la Madrid) is trying his best to save their relationship.

The relationship between two young gay men is put under pressure in a third story; Leo (Gustavo Egelhaaf) is closeted and scared to reveal his sexual orientation, whilst Fito (César Ramos) does not want to remain in the closet any longer. This leads to tension.

In the fourth story a clearly gay boy, Mauricio (Gabriel Santoyo) develops a crush on his older cousin, Oliver (Sebastián Rivera). Mauricio desperately wants to get closer to Oliver, but it is a risky move; what if Oliver is straight and homophobic?

The director, Sergio Tovar Velarde, effectively highlights some of the issues faced by gays: Social pressure resulting in fear and closeted lifestyles, a swinging lifestyle and promiscuity, and how hard it is to make a long-term relationship work. Furthermore, it shows us how a homophobic and intolerant society, fueled by the church, can result in bullying and assault.

I found the acting splendid, and so too the cinematography and soundtrack, and score 'Cuatro Lunas' an excellent 8/10.

Four gay themed plots with attractive, competent actors, and a decent script. OMG....none of the characters smoked....thank the lord. No drug fests either. But there were nude frontals and a bathhouse orgy. Nice to see masculine men displaying some hardcore emotional breakdowns, which tends to happen for two reasons....death of loved ones or the death of a romance. We find a bit of both, but mostly the latter in this film. Can't believe this was made in Mexico. Thank you.....this was free on Youtube in the USA.