Movies

Link: http://imdb.com/title/tt0245574/

"Two thumbs way up" (Ebert & Roeper and the Movies)! From world-renowned director Alfonso Cuarón (A Little Princess, Great Expectations) comes this "provocatively and unapologetically sexual" (Los Angeles Times) coming-of-age tale. Nominated for a Golden Globe, this sizzling box-office sensation is not only "racuously funny" (New York Post) but also "one of the most compellingly sexy movies ever made" (The San Diego Union-Tribune).

Julio and Tenoch are two teens ruled by raging hormones and a mission to consume exotic substances. But one summer, the boys learn more about life than they bargain for when they set off on a wild cross-country trip with seductive, 28-year-old Luisa. Both boys taste forbidden fruit as Luisa schools them in the finer points of passion, but will their mutual desire for her destroy their friendship forever?

I may now cross yet another movie off my "When am I finally going to get around to seeing that?" list. This is a little obscure film that has seen an incredibly positive response from viewers, critics and the like. It seems that if you haven't seen it, you probably know at least one person who has. That is pretty impressive for an English-subtitled movie set in Mexico.

The nice thing about Y tu mamá también is that I do not feel it's overhyped. I am not sure anyone gushes over the movie; I don't think it incites that type of a reaction in most people. To draw a parallel to another Gael movie, like The Motorcycle Diaries, this movie can mean different things to different people...or maybe nothing at all. But it is well written, acted and directed.

The language can be harsh at times, and the movie has its fair share of nudity and sexual situations. Foreign films seem to have a much better handle on sex, using it as art adding dynamicy and depth to characters and situations in ways that a prudish American film industry cannot. I still would not let my kids (if I had any) see Y tu mamá también unless they were of a mature age.

Luisa joined Julio and Tenoch under circumstances which only she understood at the time. As the movie draws to a close, we get a glimpse into her world. The glimpse is not a necessary one, but really added some beauty to the movie.

I had a feeling come over me while I watched Y tu mamá también that it reminded me of a handful of movies. I have been driving myself mad since the credits ran trying to think WHICH movies make up that handful. Movies where two people who are as close as two people can be (whether they are siblings, best friends, or lovers) go through some unsuspected transformation in the face of a life-altering experience. An experience and a transformation that gently remove them from each other's future.

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