Wednesday, April 5th • 6 pm
Alfonso Cuarón’s 2001 film, Y tu mamá también, is a quintessential road trip movie. At its center are lecherous adolescent best friends living in Mexico City—the upper-class Tenoch (Diego Luna) and working-class Julio (Gael Garcia Bernal). When both their girlfriends leave for a European trip, the two dudes take advantage of the situation and get as much action as possible.
It’s then that they meet Luisa (Maribel Verdú), the sexy Spanish wife of Tenoch’s cousin, and promise to drive her to a beautiful (and fictitious) Oaxacan beach called Boca del Cielo. To their surprise, she takes them up on their offer. So they load up the car and start an epic journey to the coast, traversing Mexico’s rural countryside, smoking pot, and getting into mischief along the way. As Luisa’s life privately unravels, a love triangle begins to form between the three travelers and the young men have a sexual awakening that threatens their relationship.
Cuarón shot Y tu mamá también using a handheld camera to give it a documentary-like feel after getting inspired by American road trip epics and French New Wave films. It also allowed him to delve into the political, economic, and cultural realities of turn-of-the-century Mexico, with Tenoch and Julio learning just as much about the diversity of their country as they do about themselves.
When Y tu mamá también premiered, it caused a lot of controversy in Mexico for its explicit depiction of drug use and sex. But nevertheless, it became a global smash and launched the international careers of Bernal, Luna, and Verdú. On April 5, SIFF is screening the film—in 35 mm!!—as part of their Movie Club series at SIFF Uptown. It’s an excellent opportunity to discover a new favorite or remember why you love movies in the first place. Get tickets ASAP. This club sells out fast.
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