Plot
In Mexico, two teenage boys and an attractive older woman embark on a road trip and learn a thing or two about life, friendship, sex, and each other.
Release Year: 2001
Rating: 7.7/10 (49,216 voted)
Critic's Score: 88/100
Director:
Alfonso Cuarón
Stars: Maribel Verdú, Gael García Bernal, Ana López Mercado
Storyline In Mexico City, late teen friends Tenoch Iturbide and Julio Zapata are feeling restless as their respective girlfriends are traveling together through Europe before they all begin the next phase of their lives at college. At a lavish family wedding, Tenoch and Julio meet Luisa Cortés, the twenty-something wife of Tenoch's cousin Jano, the two who have just moved to Mexico from Spain. Tenoch and Julio try to impress the beautiful Luisa by telling her that they will be taking a trip to the most beautiful secluded beach in Mexico called la Boca del Cielo (translated to Heaven's Mouth), the trip and the beach which in reality don't exist. When Luisa learns of Jano's latest marital indiscretion straight from the horse's mouth, she takes Tenoch and Julio's offer to go along on this road trip, meaning that Tenoch and Julio have to pull together quickly a road trip to a non-existent beach...
Writers: Alfonso Cuarón, Carlos Cuarón
Cast: Ana López Mercado
-
Ana Morelos
Diego Luna
-
Tenoch Iturbide
Gael García Bernal
-
Julio Zapata
Nathan Grinberg
-
Manuel Huerta
Verónica Langer
-
María Eugenia Calles de Huerta
María Aura
-
Cecilia Huerta
Giselle Audirac
-
Nicole Bazaine
Arturo Ríos
-
Esteban Morelos
Andrés Almeida
-
Diego 'Saba' Madero
Diana Bracho
-
Silvia Allende de Iturbide
Emilio Echevarría
-
Miguel Iturbide
Marta Aura
-
Enriqueta 'Queta' Allende
Maribel Verdú
-
Luisa Cortés
Juan Carlos Remolina
-
Alejandro 'Jano' Montes de Oca
Liboria Rodríguez
-
Leodegaria 'Leo' Victoria
Taglines:
La vida tiene sus maneras de enseñarnos. La vida tiene sus maneras de confundirnos. La vida tiene sus maneras de cambiarnos. La vida tiene sus maneras de asombrarnos. La vida tiene sus maneras de herirnos. La vida tiene sus maneras de curarnos. La vida tiene sus maneras de inspirarnos.
Opening Weekend: $408,091
(USA)
(17 March 2002)
(40 Screens)
Gross: $13,622,333
(USA)
(28 July 2002)
Technical Specs
Runtime:
Did You Know?
Trivia:
Director Trademark:
[Alfonso Cuarón]
[Long take]
Includes a long take of approximately 3 minutes, starting at 00:30:43.
Goofs:
Continuity:
After Saba rolls the joint, the leftover marijuana on the Boda magazine on his lap, disappears.
Quotes: Julio Zapata:
Truth is cool but unattainable... the truth is totally amazing, but you can't ever reach it.
User Review
A comment on economics and sexuality
Rating: 10/10
Y tu mamá también offers an extreme insight into the rampant sexuality
of Mexico's young adults. The film depicts lives of two teenage boys
against the backdrop of present-day Mexico. In his film, Alfonso Cuarón
not only describes the sexual experimentation of Mexican youth, but he
also addresses the impact wavering politics and an unstable economy has
on the Mexican people as a whole.
The film takes place in 2001, just one year after the election of
Vincente Fox, a member of the opposition party. After about 70 years of
revolutionary presidents, Mexican government underwent a radical change
during the time of the narrative, as well as the film's release. Mexico
has undergone numerous financial fluctuations throughout its history as
a country, and recent years have brought along various economic lows.
The extreme changes in economy throughout history caused Mexico to have
a large separation between each of its economic classes. In his
narrative the two young boys who take a journey to a beautiful land
with a beautiful woman seem to represent the desires of most Mexicans
during this insecure time.
Julio (Gael García Bernal) and Tenoch (Diego Luna) embark on a
thrilling journey filled with sexual exploration and an investigation
of their inner selves. After convincing the beautiful Luisa (Maribel
Verdú) to take a trip with them to an imaginary beach, the trio heads
off in search of adventure. Self-discovery ensues when Luisa seduces
both boys and convinces them to make love with each other during their
last romantic encounter. The raw sexuality displayed throughout this
movie seems to encapsulate the uninhibited nature of Mexican youth.
While the full frontal nudity and unashamed sexual acts performed on
screen may be disturbing to an American audience, Mexican cinema seems
to embrace sexuality with open arms. While they do not leave anything
to the imagination, the sex scenes throughout Y tu mamá también are
beautifully orchestrated. These scenes absorb the magnificence of
sexual attraction and the inhibition that comes along with this
temptation.
While the film utilizes the characteristics of raw sexuality at its
core, the underlying message of the film seems to encompass the trials
of politics and economy within Mexican society. Julio comes from a
lower-middle-class family, while his best friend, Tenoch, is the son of
a high-ranking politician. As their mental age begins to grow
throughout the film, the distinction among their varying classes also
becomes clear. It is this distinction that ultimately drives them
apart. Cuarón uses the distinct lives of these two boys to comment on
the state of Mexico's political affairs. While the large separation
between classes is rooted in economics, the separation also occurs
within the lifestyles and moral character of each class's constituents.
Cuarón's film Y tu mamá también depicts the raw sexuality apparent in
Mexican society, and also indirectly comments on the political
atmosphere of the country. Through the use of a compelling story of
self-discovery and the beautiful landscapes of the Mexican countryside,
Cuarón offers his audience a glimpse of Mexico through the eyes of one
of its citizens. While the underlying meanings apparent throughout the
film are deeply rooted in the political principles of Mexican society,
the narrative of the film introduces a moving story that forces its
audience to fall in love with its characters despite their downfalls.
On a scale of 1 – 10, Y tu mamá también is definitely a 10.
0