With nuance and charisma, Luna and Tonatiuh express humour, cynicism and earthy honesty, often simultaneously. The actors skilfully expose pure humanity in acts of selflessness. So it's beautiful to watch these two men become closer, to the point where Valentin admits that gender is a social construct. Both actors also play roles alongside Lopez in the movie musical, finding other textures while Lopez gets to belt out the big tunes and perform elaborate dance numbers. And she also has riveting layers.

The clever premise is that these colour-drenched fantasies are a distraction from torture and violence, and also that art can help us deal with bigger issues in our lives. While the prison sequences have a terrific earthiness, the musical sections never quite attempt to mimic classic filmmaking. Instead, they look oddly artificial, which is somewhat jarring. But there's genuine power in both the songs and several properly wrenching dramatic scenes. And in the end, this becomes a celebration of the healing power of true acceptance.

themes, language, violence, sexuality

6.Oct.25

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