Y tu mamá también (2001)
Mexican Film Maker Alfonso Cuarón’s Provocative Coming of Age Story
May 16, 2009
Y tu mamá también opens with Tenoch Iturbide (Diego Luna) in the final moments of making love with his girlfriend; after which mutual words of commitment are promised; the camera pans back from the two young lovers lying sprawled upon the bed, to reveal a movie poster on the wall above the bed: Harold and Maude.
In the very next scene, Tenoch’s best friend, Julio Zapata (Gael García Bernal), is making love to his girl; followed by similar vows of devotion.
The friends come together, in the airport, to say their farewells to their departing girlfriends, who are off to Italy for an extended stay.
Gael García Bernal and Diego Luna Shine
With the girls away, Julio and Tenoch party in a manner expected of two young and exuberant boys on the cusp of manhood. The two actors Diego Luna and Gael García Bernal have a seamless chemistry together; making the scenes of friendly play, very authentic and endearing.
And there is not a more appealing and charismatic actor to come along in the last 10 years in film than Gael García Bernal; and Diego Luna more than holds his own in tandem.
In between the scenes, a narrator (Daniel Giménez Cachowill) will inject digressions on the character’s back stories, politics, and culture; and while the digressions on Mexican politics may seem a bit odd for those unfamiliar with the seismic change in the political landscape, occurring in Mexico at the time, it does add to the texture of the film.
Tenoch is a rich kid, born into a life of privilege, most assuredly bought and paid for by his father, a corrupt politician. Julio hails from the working class, and is more than happy to partake in the benefits incurred by his friendship with Tenoch.
Which includes entrance to an exclusive country club, where Julio proves his physical superiority to Tenoch, by lapping him in the swimming pool; this one-upmanship will foreshadow underlying rifts that will come to the fore.
Julio and Tenoch Meet Luisa
At a fancy wedding thrown by Tenoch’s father for a fellow politician, the two young men meet a beautiful and alluring older Spanish woman (in her late 20's) named Luisa (Maribel Verdú), who happens to be married to Tenoch’s spoiled and selfish cousin Jano (Juan Carlos Remolina).
The smitten friends boisterously flirt with the regal Spaniard; and after Luisa encourages and teases the boys affections; they ask if she’d like to join them on a road trip to Heaven’s Mouth, a fictitious beach, they claim to be this side of paradise. Luisa declines.
After receiving devastating news that her husband is having an affair, Luisa, in a state of disarray, and depression, is struck by an inspiration; to exact revenge upon her deceitful husband, she will take up the offer proposed by her husband’s young cousin.
Luisa will have another, more complicated reason for her decision, that will be revealed in the end; but, to Julio and Tenoch, the reasons why, don’t really matter, at least not in the beginning.
Heaven’s Mouth
The narrator’s digressions and insights will grow increasingly personal and poetic as the trio move further down the road to their mythical destination; exposing cracks in Julio and Tenoch’s friendship; and uncovering a deeper sadness in Luisa.
The inevitable sex, between Luisa and Tenoch; and Luisa and Julio; and Luisa and Tenoch and Julio, will begin quick, awkward and nasty; but, their knowledge and caring for one another will grow, and the bond between them will be fleshed out in the final, climactic sex scene, shot in glorious color and shadow by Cuarón.
The final act of Y tu mamá también is romantic, poignant, and stirring. As Luisa will deliver Julio and Tenoch to a sexual and emotional reckoning; in a place unintentionally found; far more beautiful than the imagined Heaven’s Mouth.
Gael García Bernal and Diego Luna Reunite With Film Maker Cuaron
Fans of Y tu mamá también, will be thrilled by the reunion of Gael García Bernal and Diego Luna, for the soccer movie Rudo y Cursi (2009).
Ebert writes in his 3 star review, ...the first from the newly formed Cha Cha Cha Productions, a collaboration of the top Mexican directors Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu ("Babel"), Guillermo del Toro ("Pan's Labyrinth") and Alfonso Cuaron (brother of Carlos and director of "Y Tu Mama Tambien"). It comes at the end of an exciting decade for Mexican cinema..., an exciting emergence that would also include the much heralded experimental film maker Carlos Reygadas (Silent Light and Japon).
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