– Patricia Ortega embraces the queer feel-good movie with a story that breaks new ground for sexual diversity and potential models of masculinity, far removed from stale, toxic stereotypes
María León and Zach Gómez-Rolls in 9 Moons
In 1994, by leveraging prurience and curiosity, a goofy, commercial US comedy titled Junior managed to reap some hefty box-office returns thanks to the hook of seeing an alpha male like Austrian colossus Arnold Schwarzenegger sporting a pregnant belly. Now, another film also tackles the subject of a pregnant man, but from a more modern, sensitive and cheerfully queer angle: 9 Moons, the latest work by director Patricia Ortega (Mamacruz), which took part in the 29th Málaga Film Festival, out of competition, and which opens on 3 July in Spain, distributed by Caramel Films.
The script, by the Venezuelan filmmaker, screenwriter José Ortuño and producer Olmo Figueredo González-Quevedo, tells the story of Ángel, a young coach whose world is turned upside down when he starts being sick, goes to hospital and gets some news that leaves him stunned: he is pregnant. He is a man in the process of transitioning and must face a decision that will put his identity, his dreams and his understanding of his own masculinity to the test.
Starting from this idea, which is surprising to say the least, Ortega (who addressed intersexuality in 2018’s Yo, imposible) has fashioned an ode to the demolition of identity boundaries and to plurality in its most unbridled form of expression, light-years away from the strictest tenets of the heteropatriarchy. And she does so by doting on her characters, whom she observes with the utmost tenderness, empathy and understanding. That same compassion, despite the twists contained in the script, is also afforded to its protagonist, played by trans actor Zach Gómez-Rolls.
Indeed, the family and its rock-solid layer of support are the driving force that propels a film marred by a sometimes ungainly aesthetic that brings it close to daytime TV fare. Moreover, 9 Moons proves more interesting for the ideas it puts forward – such as the notion that there isn’t only one way to be a man – than for its somewhat rushed and confusing development, with the first visit to the gynaecologist, played by Fernando Guallar, being a clear example.
That doesn’t detract from this bright, buoyant film that camouflages its activism in favour of diversity and educating others’ gaze beneath several layers of sweetness, humour and emotion, while brandishing its commercial credentials loud and proud. Those credentials will seek, right in the month when LGTBIQ+ Pride is being celebrated, to draw a broad audience, further bolstered by a cast of familiar faces such as María León, Kiti Mánver and the great Jorge Sanz, who, with his turn as an old-school macho deconstructing himself and pivoting towards tolerance, gleaned the biggest laughs of the screening from the audience.
9 Moons was produced by Spain’s La Claqueta PC, La Cruda Realidad and Amania Films, and Belgium’s Menuetto. Its international sales are handled by Latido Films.
(Translated from Spanish)
