Reviews

What's amazing about Luciérnagas is how it maintains the compelling story of a drama as well as the realistic ambivalence of real life. The main character is not fully pure or innocent, nor are those he encounters easily divided into villainous or benevolent. I found the character of Guillermo fascinating and his final scene in the film very impactful.

I've never seen something with the pace of this film. It builds slowly and quietly, punctuated close to the beginning with one shocking & horrible moment that the main character Marcos keeps to himself. The whole time, you get very little verbally from Marcos, but you see his face as he processes the things that happen to him and as he receives no sympathy from those around him, and the effect is that you feel for his journey deeply. This film is quiet, mirroring the silent disdain and disinterest that Marcos receives, until an ending that left me wide eyed, jaw-dropped, and with chills all up my body. I never expected the ending but when I saw it happen I quickly remembered all the elements of the story that point to an ending like this making perfect sense.

Sure, elements of this are maybe reminiscent of other gay titles, but these themes are based on real trends of the gay experience, so it's important to be patient with similarities across films from different cultures, each of which deserve their own nuanced stories told. Reiner and Yosvani's love story is memorable in their acting, the circumstances, and their decisions. Homosexuality is portrayed here not as fully forbidden but in a state of simultaneous acceptance and denial, which makes the story so unique. Both character's female partners and some family members are aware of their male lovers. I think the sad ending falls just short of being necessary based on the plot that leads up to it, but when I went back and rewatched it I felt like it did make sense the way it all played out.