Search - Amantes de Luna Llena on DVD

An Elegant Mystery, Thriller, and Love Story

Grady Harp | Los Angeles, CA United States | 04/09/2004

(5 out of 5 stars)

"LUNA LLENA is a captivating, haunting, superb film from Spain. Director Ana Christina Henriquez, using a screenplay adapted from Antonio Munoz Molina's novel by the same name, displays uncanny skills for weaving the horrifying murder of a small girl, the subsequent effects this brutal murder has on the small town in Spain (on the populace, the parents, the priest, the school, etc), the investigation of the murder and a subsequent near murder, and the parallel development of relationships of love, understanding and self-acceptance among the lead characters. The Detective (Miguel Angel Sola in a fine performance) comes to the story with a past that includes a wife confined to a mental institution, alcoholism, and other aspects about which we never learn. The murder profoundly affects this man who has always thought he didn't care to have children, and he turns to the town priest for paternal and emotional advice. He also encounters a schoolteacher whose husband left her with her infant son 14 years ago ( Adriana Ozores - as sensitive an actress as any on the screen today) and despite their personal pasts, the two fall in love. The murderer is made known to the audience very early in the film and watching his psychopathic development compounds the visceral anxiety of the tenor of this movie. The murderer believes that the Full Moon drives him to evil: the Inspector and the schoolteacher feel the influence of the Full Moon as an instigator in their new love. The way Henriquez elects to use the cinematography, the pacing, the musical score, and the careful character delineation are nothing short of phenomenal. With excellent performances by Juan Diego Bola, Fernando Ferman-Gomez, Charo Lopez, among others, this is a brilliant film. In Spanish with English subtitles."