Queens (here! Films/Warner Brothers) – not to be confused with The Queen, which also received a theatrical release in 2006 – is an Almodovar-esque ensemble comedy set in Madrid. Taking place over the course of 48 hours, Queens provides a humorous and touching look at the winding path leading to Spain’s first same-sex wedding. Three gay male couples – Narciso (Paco León) and Hugo (Gustavo Salmerón), Oscar (Daniel Hendler) and Miguel (Unax Ugalde), and Rafa (Raúl Jiménez) and Jonás (Hugo Silva) – must not only deal with the joys and anxieties of participating in the historical festivities, but also with their difficult parents.

The queens or reinas of the title are, in fact, Narciso’s nymphomaniac mother Nuria (Verónica Forqué), Rafa’s famous movie actress mother Reyes (Marisa Paredes), Oscar’s dod-toting mom Ofelia (Betiana Blum), Miguel’s mother Magda (Carmen Maura), in whose gay-oriented hotel the wedding banquet is being held, and Hugo’s mother Helena (Mercedes Sampietro), the reluctant judge who will be performing the mass wedding ceremony. Of course, events conspire against the couples and soon one catastrophe follows another, including a carjacking, a kitchen staff strike, infidelities, a disagreement with a father and much more. Without giving away too much, Queens is crowned with a hard-won happy ending, reached through an abundance of laughs and a few tears. The DVD also includes a backlot featurette, including interviews with cast members and the director.

Employing the same minimal use of dialogue that made his A Thousand Clouds of Peace such an effective piece of cinema, filmmaker Julián Hernández once again scores with Broken Sky (Strand). With only occasional narration and few words exchanged between the lovers, Broken Sky draws us into the story of attractive university students Gerardo (Miguel Angel Hoppe) and Jonas (Fernando Arroyo) in the first blush of love. They simply can’t keep their hands (or mouths) off of each other, and the film carries an erotic charge that extends through the final frame. The chemistry is believable and their physical demonstrativeness knows no bounds; they become genuinely aroused by one another in a corridor, across a crowded highway or simply between the sheets.

Just when it seems that nothing can come between them, Jonas finds himself attracted to a guy he meets at a nightclub. It is as if a switch has been flicked in his brain and his affections for Gerardo begin to diminish. Gerardo’s persistence is met with resistance. Just as he is about to sink into a bottomless depression, handsome Sergio (Alejandro Rojo), who has admired Gerardo from afar, steps in to the picture. What follows is the evolution of love, with both Gerardo and Jonas wavering in their feelings. The soundtrack says more about the lovers than the boys themselves do, and plays a prominent role in the story. Probably 20 minutes too long, Broken Sky is, nevertheless, a compelling film that is unlike anything else you are likely to see. DVD bonus features include a slide show of the theatrical poster campaign.