Y Tu Mama Tambien

aka: And Your Mother Too!
Mexico 2001, 105 minutes
Dir. Alfonso Cuaron
In Spanish with English subtitles
Rating: [R18]
Genres: Foreign Cinema, Drama, Comedy / Road Movie, Sex, Youth

Topics: Rites-of-passage.

Feat. Maribel Verdu, Gael Garcia Bernal, Diego Luna

Aroview: Acclaimed universally (and here in NZ beset with censorship wrangles), this Mexican joyride, taken by two teenage boys and an older woman, is indeed sexually frank, but also touched with humour, grace and wisdom.

In matters of the heart and the bed, best pals Gael Garcia Bernel and Diego Luna are enthusiastic but unseasoned – so begins an education at the hands of older cousin Maribel Verdu, who, on the spur of the moment, decides to accompany them on a (possibly) dirty weekend at a remote beach. Verdu, whose husband has privately confessed infidelity to her, of course has her own agendas… some predictable, some less so. Characterised by ecstatic yet naturalistic dialogue and sun-drenched landscapes, this also subtly critiques Mexico’s drastic class-separations.

NZ International Film Festival 2002