Did I miss something?

irlandesa,
I don't know if you will ever see this reply, as it is quite awhile after your post. However, I just saw the movie a couple nights ago. I was struck with the same response when reading ricrisci's comment. Maybe I too missed something, but my take on it was that the information given in the movie was not such that you could logically jump to those conclusions. It would be interesting to hear how he arrived at those beliefs. This would be a good example for the Philosophy 101 lecture on "belief" vs. "knowledge," where we learn that beliefs are based on subjective truth, and knowledge, or to "know" something, is based on objective verification. The "kiss on the cheek" comment would cause some to believe that some homophobia is at play here. It's pretty common knowledge that many cultures practice this greeting or show of affection, and, I for one, think this is a beautiful way to say hello or goodbye to a friend (and,no, I'm not a homosexual too). To ricrisci's credit though, I will say that his comment on the "abnormal vs. normal family" was an astute and enlightening observation (although the concept of the "normal family" is kind of a fantasy).
One thing that struck me about the movie was the way the case was handled upon knowledge of the boy's physical abuse. As one trained in Social Work, one of the things you learn now is that you are required by law to report cases of abuse as a social worker, as are members of many other professions - at least in America. One thing is for sure. That man deserved some punishment, and, as did "Pellet," needed treatment. I guess, at the end we see that maybe that happenned, or at least Pablo looked to be getting some kind of counseling. I am glad that we didn't see the guy getting the tar beat out of him like we do in many movies (although I must admit I would have enjoyed seeing it, I guess). This just reinforces the idea, as does beating the child, that "might is right," and he who is the strongest and the most violent, is who wins. "He who has the biggest stick wins" leads us down the road to 12-year-olds with .25 automatics in their pockets. Unfortunately, here in America, we are a long way away from changing some of these cycles of behavior, and we, in fact, have probably gotten worse. It is a complicated problem. For example, I think we can blame some of the right-wing "family values" and religious groups (along with the spineless breed of politician that has evolved as the norm) for a failure to allow change. But then, on the other hand, we might also say that a break down in the family and in religious values, has been a cause of the matter. A strong and loving family, or extended family, has been found to be one of the biggest positive influences on how we will turn out, and although I have no way of knowing if there is a God or not, or whose God is the "real" one, I do believe religion has been valuable for giving people a system of moral values and beliefs to help guide our lives, and a place to discuss them (er, well . . or maybe to "get preached" them).
One could say that an important criterion for determining a film to be meaningful is that it stimulates us to think about and to discuss topics important to our lives or our society. I think that this film does a pretty good job of accomplishing that, or at least for me it did. I wouldn't call this a monumental piece though, but, all in all, a pretty decent flick.

"So the Da calls his friend 'Maricón', but a lot of Spanish men greet their friends like that."

Hum, no. I'm spanish and It obviously can be used like a joke, but it's not usual to greet friends this way (at least not where I live).

I am pretty sure that they are straight and it is never suggested that they are homosexual. Where did you get this idea?

I really doubt the theory, particularly because it was never mentioned by the filmmakers (to my knowledge). I saw no evidence of this. I think the family was just the kind of loving family who values friendship and community--and thus always has friends around. As for Felix dying of AIDS, that doesn't mean that he was gay; I know a number of people who are HIV+ and are straight; the assumption that AIDS is a gay disease is so...80s.

I also have no idea how the whole 'give me a kiss' thing could be interpreted as anything significant. I'm not Spanish, but I've lived in Spain, and everyone is always giving kisses for greeting. Sure, that would be weird in America, but whatever. In cultures like America, people automatically think that same-sex affection = being gay (or being repressed GLBT). But other places I've lived (Middle East, North Africa), it's totally normal for friends of the same sex to hold hands while crossing the street or have their arm around the other's neck while riding in a taxi (etc).

The parents are 100% straight. The problem was the subtitles, which were probably done superficially: "Maricón" does mean "gay", but it's also an affectionate word when used amongst people who are very close. It kind of means "you're a bit of a bastard, but I like you!". Surely you've heard people saying "what a bastard he is" in admiration, well, same here.
As for those who've said "I'm Spanish, and we never use maricón that way", well, it is true that most people don't speak like that, but many do. (it's a little surprising that they wouldn't know though).
I hope that clarifies the matter.