Details
Movie Description
This beautifully filmed, expertly acted movie about two 17-year-old, middle-class Mexican boys on summer break is deceivingly complex. The basic plot of the film is that best friends Tenoch (Diego Luna, BEFORE NIGHT FALLS) and Julio (Gael Garcia Bernal, AMORES PERROS), who think of nothing but sex, convince a beautiful 28-year-old woman, Luisa (Maribel Verdu), to go on a road trip with them to a nonexistent beach. They get lost. They flirt and giggle and fawn over Luisa hoping to win her over with their boyish charms. And that's about it. But that simple plotline merely provides structure for the poetry and meaning that is woven into the film with photography and narration. Periodically throughout the film, while the action continues normally, the sound stops. A voice over then gives information--sometimes a brief biography of one of the characters (birth date, name of father and mother, consequences of birth, primary childhood experiences), or a note about what each of the characters is really thinking, or a news report or historical comment that brings Mexico's tangled politics into the context of daily life. Never is the voice connected to a character in the film. It simply floats. Meanwhile, underwater photography, roving shots of the Mexican countryside, and affectionate close-ups on the characters communicate a solemnness that is not present in the plot. All of these pieces fit together easily, resulting in an excellent, whole, thoughtful film.
Film Notes
This film screened in September 2001 as part of the 39th New York Film Festival, organized by the Film Society of Lincoln Center in New York City.
Industry Reviews
"...[Cuaron] works with a quicksilver fluidity, and the movie is fast, funny, unafraid of sexuality and finally devastating..."
New York Times - Elvis Mitchell (03/15/2002)
"...Cuaron introduces some deft social commentary about the inequities of his native land....It's delightfully uninhibited..."
Movieline - Stephen Farber (04/01/2002)
"...Cuaron's hot-blooded, haunting and wildly erotic film revels in the pleasures of the flesh without losing touch with thought and feeling..."
Rolling Stone - Peter Travers (04/11/2002)
"...An erotic tale of sexual awakening, a bittersweet coming-of-age story and a commentary on class differences....Visually arresting and heart-rending..."
USA Today - Claudia Puig (04/12/2002)
"...It's beautiful to look at; more importantly, it's invigorating to experience..."
Sight and Sound - Jose Arroyo (04/01/2002)
"...A smart, spicy road-tripper....Cuaron should be applauded for blending light comedy and dark drama so smoothly..."
Total Film - Dan Jolin (05/01/2002)
"...A film of unexpected richness....Adult, thoughtful, frank, bold..."
Chicago Sun-Times - Roger Ebert (07/21/2002)
"...Outrageous without being offensive, provocatively and unapologetically sexual, alive to the possibilities of life and cinema, Alfonso Cuaron's Y TU MAMA TAMBIEN is a sophisticated film..."
Los Angeles Times - Kenneth Turan (03/15/2002)
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