User Reviews

4 Moons is an extraordinarily ambitious and original movie that almost completely succeeds.

It is not a collection of short movies, but it tells four separate stories. Each story corresponds to one of the four phases of the moon: new, half waxing, full, and half waning; and each has a gay protagonist at a roughly corresponding time of life: late childhood, late teens or very early 20s, middle 30s, and old age. Each protagonist faces challenges typically faced by gay males at those times of life, but presented in entirely original ways.

As I said, this is a very ambitious movie - it attempts to give a comprehensive look at an entire lifetime of gay experiences. Not only that, but it does so with such originality that none of the four stories seemed like just a rehashing of the same old gay coming-out/mid-life-crisis/etc formulas. 4 Moons is fresh and new, not like any gay movie that came before it.

The stories are not arranged sequentially but are interwoven, switching between them periodically in a way that is never distracting. Although the stories are interwoven, they do not overlap at all, and only once does a character from one story even see a character from another. All four stories take place in an affluent, very American-looking part of Mexico City, among people who seem not to have to work but aren't so rich that they're surrounded by servants.

The writing and direction, and all technical aspects of the production, are uniformly excellent. I had no idea that the Mexican movie industry was as sophisticated as this movie is. The only thing that makes some stories better than others is the quality of the acting.

All the actors in the two younger stories are fantastic, as good as I've ever seen anywhere. The mid-30s "full moon" story has the weakest actors and suffers for it. It's the only one of the four that plays like an overwrought telenovela and therefore is unbelievable and tedious. Actors in the old-age story are good enough to keep it from sinking but not to make it shine as the first two stories do.

But those two "youth" stories (especially the one about the childhood friends who reconnect in college) - and the always excellent writing and direction - lift the whole movie far above 99% of its competition.

The Mexican film Cuatro Lunas was shown in the U.S. with the title Four Moons (2014). It was directed by Sergio Tovar Velarde. (I'm not sure if the title refers to the fact that the movie depicts four separate stories, or takes place over four months, or both.)

Sometimes, a director will interweave the stories so that characters of one story interact with characters of the other stories. Not so here. Each story is independent, but the theme of all four stories is the same--difficulties face by gay men. The stories have an age separation: one is about a pre-adolescent, one about a college-age couple, one about a couple in midlife, and one about an elderly professor who is married, with grown children, but who still seeks love from a gay hustler.

I found all four stories to be realistic and very moving. I was especially impressed by the story of Joaquin, the professor, played by Alonso Echinove. He has been awarded a literary prize by a small college. It's obviously a pretty minor event, but it's the only award he's likely to receive. He pays the young hustler to attend, and the young man keeps his promise to be there.

We saw this film at The Little Theatre as part of ImageOut, the always impressive Rochester LGBT Film Festival. It will work well on DVD.

Technically speaking, the film seemed me like a telenovela. With time and performances OK for television, but not very elaborated for a film. Four parallel stories that look like they were there, all together, because of the director did not know whether he would again have budget to film them separately in the future. Anyway, I liked the story of Leo, Fito and his mother (great acting). The story of the boys from school, I found it hard to believe. We are in the twenty-first century (and looked like it was happening in the 70s). If at a school, a boy (or a group of boys) hit, that way, to another, for being gay, or whatever, he/them are sanctioned, and all adults defend the victim, but in this movie, everybody assume the argument of the perpetrator, as valid and, OK, the gay boy "something had done" to deserve that. The story of the poet grandfather was interesting though little credible. And the gay couple's story (the too gay styled couple), very boring and obvious, to me.

My review is technical, I am not a bitter homophobic or else.

I had too much trouble to watching this movie to the end. I look at the clock every five minutes.

The dialogs are stupid, cheesy and lack of substance. Artificial is a good word to describe this "attempt to film". The acting is so poor. The directing are the worst I ever seen. This actors can't speak, they whisper instead. 4 stories, 4 yawns. Prostitucion, Sex, Gay boy bullynized,and many more clichés. This movie should be called "Gay Life For Dummies". Is boring to dead and the music is worth the film, boring, boring, boring. This is a gender film, is not very enjoyable, is a soap dish worth for TV, not for the big screen. If you are a sick masochist, you probably enjoy this torture.

1.The script is so real.

2. Kid's part is shocking. I was speechless. At the end, you guys were able to put the pieces together just fine.

3. The story of the childhood's friend. It's lovely, sexy and so True. I enjoyed a lot this part.

4. Hetero's might not enjoy this movie, not even a bit. Unless they are so open minded or close to gay people. I understand if they got bore.

5. Professor's part is not that credible. Still it is a good fiction to watch.

6. The Guy from Spain is so lame. Typical person that does not know what to do in Life. From movie perspective, Excellent Story.

Two thumbs Up!!!!!!!!!!

Totally, this is the best gay themed movie I've ever seen in years, which can even rank higher than BBM in my heart.

There was a moment when I see Hugo met with Leo outside the gay bar that I believe these four different storylines will all be linked up in the end, which I believe will make the film more dramatic. But it didn't.

If I was the scriptwriter, I would set a plot that when the father of the gay child went to the hospital to fetch the medicine, he would met with the Hugo couple. Although there probably wouldn't be any conversation, but just a simple eye contacts could mean a lot.

BTW, I heart Hugo. Disloyal as he is, he is real a big feast for eyes. Who knows me?