#4 moons

Crystal Spring, I intend to spend half an hour daily on it, just as I tried until now. Except less try and more do. Other stories that I want to develop are The Specters - still and Admundir (aka 4 Moons), plus I want to take a look at two -or-three older ones, Travelers and Sentira and maybe Ananke as well.

Timeline? I’m not sure I can make any obligations re: timeline. Not with Crystal Spring for sure -- it will be written when it’s written. I can however try to make Specters my priority for January and come up with a decent plot in the first month of the year. Sounds reasonable.

Further in that vein, February would be for Admundir (which might also be kind of an RNM sci-fi AU thing, come to think about it), and next months could be dedicated to the other stories. Hm. That would take up my time until May.

Is it safe to assume I might be done with second draft of Crystal Spring Valley by then as well? It would be neat.

cuatro lunas splices together four narratives: in new moon, a young boy is attracted to his older cousin; in waxing moon, two childhood friends rekindle their friendship and their attraction leads them into a relationship; in full moon, a monogamous couple's relationship is rocked by infidelity; in waning moon, an old poet with a family frequents a gay sauna, where he falls for a beautiful hustler. none of the characters cross storylines, but the emotional beats pave way for each other.

the casting is impeccable and i enjoyed following the storylines. to me, the most engaging stories were found in waxing and waning moon. new moon's story of prepubescent desire is a little too difficult to make fresh, and the writing of full moon felt at times soap opera-esque. on the other hand, there is a sense of ground broken in waxing and waning moon. fito (cesar ramos) and leo (gustavo egelhaaf) steal every scene, and their coming together is wordless and private, until they have to deal with external perceptions. fito's fear of being out of the closet drives a wedge between the couple and subsequent arguments are messy, incoherent and all too real. parental expectations play a big role in waxing moon, and i especially loved leo's scenes with his mother (one painful, one tender).

on the other hand, how rare is it that we have the experiences of an older gay man represented with sensitivity and care? it was wonderful to see joaquin (alonso echanove) fall in love and pursue gilberto (alejandro belmonte) and find a genuine connection out of it. i had my doubts at first that the film would play joaquin's story well, that his desires would go unfilled, but the resolution to his and gilberto's connection is perhaps the most tender and bittersweet. yes, it's true that older gay men typically are unwanted or have to pay for attention, but that doesn't mean that it is purely transactional. startling beauty can come from such exchanges.