El destello de la luna

The wonderful "El Destello de la Luna" is a beautifully layered relationship drama exploring the fraught machinations of a gay couple from different generations, and at a critical crossroads in their romantic partnership. Director Gustavo Letelier has brought to the screen a deeply revealing melodrama, tinged with all the real-world nuances of decaying love and its reflective impacts on the human condition.

As a talented, accomplished, yet rarely-working theater actor, the older Renato (portrayed with a visceral saltiness by Ricardo Herrea) is proud of his rarefied gifts and the journey it took to acquire them. And like many of us who are proud (and perhaps too proud), work of sporadic quality is offered to him that he can't reconcile with his sense of his own accomplishments and his mounting insecurities. His younger partner Ivan -- also an actor, and played with a comparative looseness by Pablo Sotomayor Prat -- has little empathy for his older love interest's refusal to accept roles, prodding his partner to step beyond his self-imposed confines and embrace the work for all it might offer. Their crumbling friction has induced a behind-the-scenes affair between Ivan and Danilo (Nicolas Anjle), and when a young theater director (Maximiliano Meneses) with an engaging new vision offers Ivan and Renato the two lead roles as transvestite lovers in his new production, Renato is initially put off; his antiquated definitions can't reconcile the drag role with his prejudicial fears and his waning sense of self-esteem. Yet he accepts the role, and together with Ivan, the lovers play Lola and Ana. Their deep emotional investments in their respective roles allow for the possibility of a greater depth of understanding in their own shared relationship.

"El Destello de la Luna" detangles thread upon thread of nuance to transcend the uniqueness of its own great storyline, eventually yielding universal truths exposing the true nature of our doubts, our fears, and our urgent need to recognize and confront them before they collapse the lives we've built for ourselves. This is a richly layered human drama, and expertly brought to life on screen. Highly, highly recommended. - (Was this review of use to you? If so, let me know by clicking "Helpful." Cheers!)

The opening sequence of this film immediately arrested my attention with powerful parallels between youth & old age, between a man and his own reflection, between who one IS and who one THINKS one is. The cinematography and acting is superb and the pacing of the film presents much like a theatrical play with a poetic heartbeat that is hypnotizing throughout. What I found most fascinating was the reluctance the lead character had about playing a drag queen and how beautifully crafted his journey was to discover much of himself in the role he had such an aversion to playing. This film takes a bold, beautiful and intoxicating look into the confines of one's own soul.

I really appreciated this thoughtful, moving drama about a gay couple wrestling with the state of their diminishing relationship while also wrestling with their own convictions and prejudices. The characters felt genuine and sincere, and the story of their lives was compelling. The film explores a subculture without prejudice, which I found eye-opening, and relatable on a level. It also provides a window into theatre culture. Some may be off-put by the raw cinematography, but I found it added to the rawness and sincerity of the story. And the orchestral score was a great compliment to the film's emotions.

This is a well done film. More importantly is it's a unique film that offers a look at subcultures not typically seen by the average person.

I was hypnotized - still am - by this very sensitive piece of work. There is a true poetry to it and a superb cinematography. The characters felt very organic and sincere, thoroughfully developed, and played by top level actors. A compelling story and an interesting dive into the Theatre culture.