In the bonus interview on the DVD for his 2014 film “4 Moons,” director Sergio Tovar Velarde revealed he was inspired by the concept of the four stages of a man’s life. In this film, he crafts the story of men of various ages struggling with coming out, accepting themselves and forging lives with love.

A schoolboy acts on his attraction to an older pal, forcing his parents to come to terms with his sexuality. Two college friends fall in love, but the stress of the closet might be too much for both of them. A thirtysomething couple, together for years, find their relationship threatened by an outsider. An older man faced with the end of his career and perhaps the finality of his life becomes obsessed with a hustler.

Some of the people here can be so infuriating – pigheaded or pathetic or just blindly arrogant – and yet I realized I recognized the behaviors of all. Nothing seemed inauthentic. The endings range from bittersweet to sweet, and while each resolution seems just right for the characters, I found myself thinking about these people, the choices they made and their futures long after putting the disc away. That’s the mark of a good movie – and one you should watch. “4 Moons” rises to tell a surprisingly poignant story.

In this crucial scene, two college friends share a close moment and more: