Cuatro lunas

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.

This film approaches the topics in a great way. It's fantastic that a Mexican film is finally taking this topic seriously. I think reducing the story from four moons to the 2 sides of the moon it would have been better. Two stories well developed would have been great.

Acting was good and the way it was film was nice too. It tried to avoid clichés but it fell in a few. The stories are believable and feel real. You can identify even if you are not gay.

Totally recommended to watch, I hope more film like this keep coming.

We need positive portrayal of gay people especially in Latin American films

It amazes me with all the talent and money in Hollywood that Gay films are generally so lousy. Except for a couple of films like GBF and The Geography Club there have been almost no good gay films in the past year or so. There are big director pretentious movies like Philadelphia or Broke Back Mountain in the past, but we need something more real and less hysterically depressing. This film is sweetly wonderful and true to life. Watching is like hearing the stories of people I have known. The well chosen actors give beautiful performances. The story telling is almost perfect. Chemistry between the leads is excellent and believable. When someone starts talking up an American gay director who makes a lot of product that isn't very good and acts like people should settle for it, I would rather read subtitles and see a movie of this caliber instead. Some of the very best Gay films are coming from outside of our borders where gifted directors are making very good films without huge budgets or overpaid actors. I have seen some excellent Gay films this year, none of them come from Hollywood.

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.

I don't think this film looks at really complex themes, but they're resonant, heartfelt themes nonetheless, and coming from a Mexican film it's rare that it looks at the issues that it does. The main cast are all pretty great, some more than others. Some of the stories resonated with me more than others, and some were overall more effective than others. They're simple, but effective. It's great that Mexico is at least letting films like these be made, and I really appreciate its ambition. I hope it's able to be seen by more people because it really deserves it. Overall, very resonant and very well-made. Definitely recommended for anyone interested.