Luciérnagas

Ramin, an Iranian immigrant in Mexico, carries his past on his back: literally, in the form of welts. In Luciérnagas, a Skype conversation reveals that he has left his boyfriend behind in Turkey.

Early on in this immigrant drama, Ramin tries to return to Europe, but the high cost stops him. Or is it something else? Ramin single-mindedly steers his own course, even though he could easily join forces with a fellow immigrant, or a woman with a broken heart just like his Luciérnagas deals not only with immigration, but also with issues of commitment: two not entirely unrelated issues. Is Ramin’s restless nature the result of the homophobic culture he grew up in? Director Bani Khoshnoudi leaves a lot unexplained, for her audience to chew on afterwards.