September 25, 2020
Review: 'Luz' Appeals to the Romantic in All of Us
Roger Walker-Dack READ TIME: 2 MIN.
Portland-based filmmaker Jon Garcia has followed up his highly successful "Falls" trilogy of movies with yet another exceptional queer love story, "Luz."�This time, however, he has moved on from the Mormons to the Mexican Mafia.
"Luz" is the story of Ruben, who has a job driving for his Mafiosa cousin taking his girls back and forth to "work." However, Ruben falls for one of them and gets so drunk with her that he crashes the car, killing her.
The accident lands him in a correctional center, where he shares a cell with the very threatening Carlos (Jesse Tayeh).�Being the new kid, Ruben is given a rough time by all the other inmates, but slowly Carlos lightens up and becomes his prison mentor.�Not long after, they end up as lovers.
That, however, is very short-lived as the very next day Carlos is discharged from jail - a fact he had been keeping from a very smitten and now angry Ruben.
Three years later, Ruben is to be released from jail. In the meantime, his mother has died and his Mafia cousin Julio has taken Ruben's daughter to live with him, without disclosing their address.
Ruben tracks down Carlos, who is now living with his�girlfriend and mother and running an auto repair shop. It is clear to everyone that the two men are very much in love, so the girlfriend storms out, but his mother gives her blessing.�There is now just one remaining problem, and that is for Ruben to get his daughter back.
No matter how sharp you think you are, Garcia's plots are never easy to predict. Once again he�ensures we are sitting on the edge of our seats to the very last frame - and clutching a whole box of Kleenex just in case.
It is a beautiful and emotional story that detractors may complain is too sentimental, but it will appeal to the romantic in everyone. The remarkable thing is that Garcia always shows exceptional insight into queer relationships/romance, and with such authenticity for someone who is actually an ally of our community.
His native Oregon stands in for Mexico and his attention to detail also extends to an original perfect soundtrack. (Did we mention Garcia is a musician, too?)
Kudos to the two lead actors for their compelling performances. We know we will want to watch it again when we feel the need for a touch of real romance.
Roger Walker-Dack, a passionate cinephile, is a freelance writer, critic and broadcaster and the author/editor of three blogs. He divides his time between Miami Beach and Provincetown.
