El niño de la luna (1989)

Adopted by a treacherous semi-scientific cult where extraordinary mental powers are common, extraordinary 12-year-old David begins an archetypal journey across two continents to find his destiny as Child of the Moon.

Director:

Agustí Villaronga

Writer:

Agustí Villaronga

Stars:

Maribel Martín, Lisa Gerrard, Enrique Saldana

5 wins & 9 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Maribel Martín	...	Victoria
Lisa Gerrard	...	Georgina
Enrique Saldana	...	David
Lucia Bosé	...	Directora
David Sust	...	Edgar
Mary Carrillo	...	Anciana carbonera
Günter Meisner	...	Abuelo militar
Heidi Ben Amar	...	Mid-e-mid
Lydia Azzopardi	...	Abuela mora
Jack Birkett	...	Inválido
Lluís Homar	...	Hombre 1 cabaña
Albert Dueso	...	Hombre 2 cabaña
Joaquim Cardona	...	Director Orfanato
Lydia Zimmermann	...	Cuidadora Centro
Ramon Colomina	...	Hombre Telekinesis (as Ramón Colominas)

Storyline

Since ancient times, a tribe on the African continent has been prophesying that a white boy will arrive to be their god: the Son of the Moon. David, a 12-year-old orphan who lives in Europe, learns about the prophecy and believes that he is the chosen child and that destiny must be fulfilled at any cost. Before David can fulfill his prophecy he must escape the heavily guarded scientific organization that has adopted him. David's strange behavior and the fact that he possesses extrasensory perception, has attracted the attention of an organization researching so-called "prodigious beings" in the occult tradition. David soon discovers that their goal is to channel the moon's energy into a child yet to be born, robbing him of his rightful place as the Son of the Moon. Two women, Victoria, a member of the center, and Georgina, the future mother of the supposed moonchild, will help David fulfill his destiny. After several attempts David manages to escape the center and undergoes a series ...

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Plot Keywords:

12 year old | journey | boy | cult | pre teen | 

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Genres:

Fantasy | Sci-Fi

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Details

Country:

Spain

Language:

Spanish

Also Known As:

Moon Child

Company Credits

Production Co:

Ganesh Producciones Cinematográficas

Technical Specs

Runtime:

118 min

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

User Reviews

Magical, not sinister

This is not what it sounds like. It is approximately a kids' mystical adventure movie, on the order of The Black Stallion, except for a nude sex scene, followed by what looks like a surgical procedure that I didn't understand. In structure this is a suspense movie, but the suspense is limited to escape and pursuit; the mystical or metaphysical element--the child's visions, the scientific-occult conspiracy to which he is delivered, and so forth--which one would expect to be churned into melodrama, as the same situation was in The Fury, is presented matter-of-factly, rather as magic realism.

Alastair Crowley's novel of the same title has a different plot, but may still have inspired the movie, because it also involves a scheme by an occult group to generate a child with magical powers, and the film has about it an air of the 20s, as perhaps of Rex Ingram (one of whose films concerned a fictional Crowley).

The story has flaws: e.g. it forgets that the main characters have "wild talents," and so their escape and pursuit is a matter of mundane running and hiding; for someone in the clutches of an authoritarian group with a recruited cadre of psychics, the child is able to sneak in and out very easily; characters' affections and determinations change without warning--all of which suit the kids' movie this (almost) is.