Jump to the good stuff: The Story | Some Thoughts | The Final Verdict
The Story:
Four Moons is a film with four separate stories that are woven together, each focusing on the gay experience at a specific age.
The first story is about Hugo (Antonio Velázquez) and Andres (Alejandro de la Madrid), who are in a long-term relationship. After years of being together, Andrés fears that Hugo is seeing another man.
The second is about Mauricio (Gabriel Santoyo), an adolescent boy who has a crush on his slightly older cousin, Oliver (Sebastian Rivera). While playing a video game, Mauricio struggles with his newfound impulses.
The third is about Joaquin (Alonso Echánove), a poet and closeted elderly man who propositions a hustler (Alejandro Belmonte). Joaquin’s desire for the hustler brings up the shame of hiding his sexuality from his wife and children. And when he is asked to speak at an event to honor his life work, Joaquin is hesitant to participate.
In the final story, two college men who knew each other in high school, Fito (César Ramos) and Leo (Gustavo Egelhaaf), meet again in college. They start hanging out and then become sexually involved. And while Fito decides to live openly as a gay man, Leo is reluctant to come out.
The four stories play out, depicting life via four generations of gay men.
Some Thoughts:
Four Moons is a realistic portrayal of what it is to be gay at different stages of life. The acting, direction, and pacing are all on point. Also, all of the characters and situations are realistic, and the stories are relatable.
Although each story comes with a satisfying and emotional conclusion, the one about Joaquin, a poet, is the more complex of the four. Joaquin’s children are adults, and his poetry is being recognized for the first time at an event to honor him. While his wife is proud of him, Joaquin is reluctant to speak at the event. The recognition of his life work is also tied to his desire for the hustler and his inability to acknowledge his identity. This is an interesting concept because it’s also a part of himself that he keeps hidden. And it’s this aspect of the story that elevates it above sexual desire and makes the conclusion all the more touching.
What all four stories share is the theme of identity and being true to yourself. Each is touching and poignant in its own way and gives the movie a well-rounded feel.
The film is written and directed by Sergio Tovar Velarde, who clearly took his time developing it. All of the plots are woven together so well that they never feel separate from each other; and in doing so, show the four experiences as a whole. Velarde had to have created a storyboard because it flows so smoothly.
The Final Verdict:
Four Moons depicts four stages of gay life and shows them as one. It’s well acted, artfully told, and poignant.
