Y Tu Mamá También (2001)

Mexico; 106min

Drama

Director: Alfonso Cuarón

Writers: Alfonso Cuarón, Carlos Cuarón

Stars: Maribel Verdú, Gael García Bernal, Diego Luna

Y Tu Mama Tambien is one of those stories about friendship, youth and sex, but put in a much more realistic context than what we are used to. Political aspect of that time (1999) couldn't be ignored so it's indirectly perfectly pointed out. Fall of IRP, which ruled Mexico for 71 years, is constantly in many ways shown and described in the background of the movie's main events. 

Two Mexican teenagers, Tenoch and Julio, one from a rich and influential family, one from middle class, are free for the summer when their girlfriends go to Europe. Soon they meet 10 years older Luisa and they suggest a trip to the beach which she refuses at first but when her husband admits cheating on her, she unexpectedly agrees, and they set out together on a trip which will prove to be crucial for their friendship and sexual maturation. 
The main difference between Y Tu Mama Tambien and any other roadtrip movie is the realistic approach to interactions between the characters, both verbal and physical, and their surroundings. We get to know characters over the narrator who, from time to time, stops the soundtrack and recounts the history of any of the characters, places through which they visit, or some events essential for the story. The motives of the young duo are clear from the beginning, while Luisa's story is a lot more complicated and it gives an additional level to the film at it's end. Over time, their relationship gets more and more tension, and it's great to compare final climax with initial shyness. 

Technical part of the film is superbly done. Shots which lasts several minutes are constant which gives the actors a chance to express themselves and to improvise which is certainly one of the biggest reasons for so simple, fluent and natural dialogues. Cuarón proved himself as a top filmmaker on several occasions, but his feel for the characters and space is here at its peak. It's interesting that the movie has no soundtrack. The only music we hear is the same that characters hear and it's not disadvantage, on the contrary, it's just another element that enhances the realistic look of the events. 
Leading acting trio are, as expected, brilliant. Y Tu Mama Tambien, alongside Amores Perros, launched Gael García Bernal to the top of the Mexican cinema, while Diego Luna joined few rather large Hollywood projects (Frida, The Terminal, Milk) few years later. Of course, the role of Spanish women Cuarón gave to the Spanish women. For Maribel Verdú, despite several good projects, Y Tu Mamá También is the crown of career. 
In the first week film grossed $2.2 million and it's still the best opening of Mexican film. Most of negative criticism goes to the controversial sex scenes and nudity which is the reason that film isn't rated by the MPAA, what puts it alongside the most controversial films where Y Tu Mamá También certainly doesn't belong. Plot itself is nothing new, nor particularly original, as the most of the screenplay, but the approach and the performance placed Y Tu Mama Tambien at the top of the genre.

Y Tu Mamá También je jedna od onih prića o prijateljstvu, mladosti i seksu, ali stavljena u daleko realniji kontekst nego što smo navikli. Također se politički aspekt toga vremena (1999.) indirektno izvrsno istaknuo.
Pad IRP-a, koji je 71 godinu vladao Meksikom, se konstantno na različite načine prikazuje i opisuje u pozadini doživljaja protagonista.

Dva mlada Meksikanca, Tenoch (Diego Luna) i Julio (Gael García Bernal), jedan iz bogate i utjecajne, drugi iz srednjklasne obitelji provode jedno u nizu dugih i dosadnih ljeta nakon što su im djevojke otputovale na ljeto u Europu. Ubrzo upoznaju desetak godina stariju Luisu (Maribel Verdú) kojoj ponude odlazak na obalu, a ona nakon potvrde da ju muž vara na njega i pristaje. Tako kreću na put koji će se pokazati ključnim za njihovo prijateljstvo i seksualno sazrijevanje. 

Glavna razlika između Y Tu Mamá También i bilo kojeg drugog roadtrip filma je realnost prikaza interakcije između likova, kako verbalne tako i fizičke, te njihove okoline. Likove upoznajemo ponajviše preko naratora koji s vremena na vrijeme zaustavi zvučnu kulisu i prepriča povijest bilo likova, mjesta kroz koja prolaze ili nekih događaja. Motivi mladog dvojca su jasni od samog početka, dok je Luisina priča puno kompliciranija i na kraju filmu daje dodatnu razinu. S vremenom njihov odnos postaje sve burniji, te je fenomenalno usporediti konačni klimaks sa početnom sramežljivošću.

Tehnički je film vrhunski odrađen. Kadrovi od po nekoliko minuta su konstanta što daje glumcima priliku za iskazivanje i improvizaciju koja je zasigurno jedna od najvećih razloga toliko jednostavnim, tečnim i prirodnim dijalozima. Cuarón se iskazao kao vrhunski filmaš u više navrata, ali njegov je osječaj za likove i prostor ovdje na vrhuncu. Zanimljivo je kako film uopće nema glazbenu podlogu. Jedina glazba što se čuje je ona puštana od samih aktera ili koja svira u pozadini prostora u kojima se nalaze te to ne da nije nedostatak nego samo još jedan element koji koji povećava realnost događaja.

Vodeći glumački trojac je očekivano besprijekorno iznio cijeli film. Y Tu Mamá También je uz Amores Perros lansirao Gael García Bernala u vrh meksičkog glumišta, dok je Diego Luna samo nekoliko godina kasnije završio na povećim holivudskim projektima (Frida, The Terminal, Milk). Naravno, za ulogu španjolke Cuarón uzima španjolku. Za Maribel Verdú je ovo, unatoč više dobrih projekata, ipak kruna karijere.

U prvih tjedan dana film je zaradio 2,2 milijuna dolara što je i dalje najbolje otvaranje meksičkog filma. Većina negativnih kritika odlazi na kontroverzne scene seksa i golotinje zbog čega film čak nije ni ocijenjen od strane MPAA-a što ga svrstava uz bok najkontroverznijim filmovima makar mu tu sigurno nije mjesto. Sama tematika nije ništa novo, posebno ni originalno, kao i većina scenarističkog dijela, ali sam pristup i sama izvedba plasiraju Y Tu Mamá También na sami vrh žanra.