Story of movie Y Tu Mam%c3%a1 Tambi%c3%a9n :
Y Tu Mamá También (English: And Your Mother Too) is a 2001 Mexican drama film directed by Alfonso Cuarón and co-written by Cuarón and his brother Carlos.
| Y Tu Mamá También | |
|---|---|
Theatrical release poster | |
| Directed by | Alfonso Cuarón |
| Produced by | Alfonso Cuarón Jorge Vergara |
| Written by | Carlos Cuarón Alfonso Cuarón |
| Starring | Maribel Verdú Gael García Bernal Diego Luna |
| Narrated by | Daniel Giménez Cacho |
| Music by | Natalie Imbruglia Frank Zappa Miho Hatori |
| Cinematography | Emmanuel Lubezki |
| Edited by | Alex Rodríguez Alfonso Cuarón |
| Distributed by | 20th Century Fox (Mexico) IFC Films (USA) Good Machine (USA) |
Release date |
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Running time | 106 minutes |
| Country | Mexico |
| Language | Spanish |
| Budget | $5 million |
| Box office | $33.6 million |
The film tells a coming-of-age story about two teenage boys who take a road trip with a woman in her late twenties. It stars Mexican actors Diego Luna and Gael García Bernal and Spanish actress Maribel Verdú, in the leading roles. The film is part of the road movie genre, set in 1999 against the backdrop of the political and economic realities of present-day Mexico, specifically at the end of the uninterrupted 71-year line of Mexican presidents from the Institutional Revolutionary Party and the rise of the opposition led by Vicente Fox.
The film is recognized for its explicit depiction of sex and drug use, which caused complications in the film's rating certificate in various countries. In 2002, the film was released in English-speaking markets under its original Spanish title and opened in limited release within the United States. In Mexico, the film earned $2.2 million its first weekend in June 2001, making it the highest box office opening in Mexican cinema history. In 2003, the film was nominated for Best Original Screenplay at the Academy Awards as well as Best Foreign Language Film at the Golden Globe Awards in 2002.
Screenplay
The film uses an omniscient narrator to provide information on the characters and their personal lives, historical Mexican events, and the settings depicted in the film. These "footnotes" also address economic and political issues in Mexico, particularly the impoverished lifestyle of people living in rural areas of the country.
The story itself begins at the threshold of two friends' adulthood. Julio (Gael García Bernal) comes from a leftist, middle-class family, and Tenoch's (Diego Luna) father is a high-ranking political official. The film opens with a scene of each boy having sex with his girlfriend one last time before the girls leave on a trip to Italy. Without their girlfriends around, the boys take the opportunity to live as bachelors.
At a wedding, they meet Luisa (Maribel Verdú), an older woman and the wife of Tenoch's cousin, Jano. The boys attempt to impress her with talk of an invented, secluded beach called Boca del Cielo ("Heaven's Mouth"), but she initially declines their invitation to accompany them there. Later, Luisa visits a doctor; after her appointment, she receives a phone call from Jano in which he tearfully confesses that he has been cheating on her. The next day, Luisa calls Tenoch and asks if their offer to accompany them to the beach is still open.
Although Julio and Tenoch have no idea where they will go, the three set off for it, driving through rural Mexico. They talk about their relationships and sexual experiences to pass the time: the boys boast about the number of women with whom they have slept, while Luisa speaks of Jano and wistfully recalls her first love, who died in a motorcycle accident.
During an overnight stop, Luisa leaves a tearful message on Jano's answering machine explaining that she has left him. Tenoch enters her motel room in search of shampoo, but finds her crying. Luisa seduces him, and he awkwardly but enthusiastically has sex with her. Julio sees this from the open doorway, and he walks away and sits down outside by the pool, upset at what he's seen. Tenoch comes down to the pool, and Julio informs him he's had sex with Tenoch's girlfriend. The next day, Luisa notices the tension between the boys, so she has sex with Julio to equalize their perceived status. Tenoch then reveals he had sex with Julio's girlfriend. The boys begin to fight until Luisa threatens to leave them.
Driving along the coastal road that evening, they chance upon an isolated beach that's actually called Boca del Cielo. Making camp there, they begin to relax and enjoy the ocean, along with the company of a local family. In the nearby village, Luisa makes a final phone call to Jano, bidding him an affectionate but final farewell.
That evening, the three drink excessively and joke recklessly about their sexual transgressions, revealing that each boy has frequently had sex with the other's girlfriend. Julio also says he had sex with Tenoch's mother, but it's unclear if he's joking or not. The three dance together sensually and then retire to their room. They begin to undress and grope each other. As Luisa kneels between them and stimulates them both, the boys embrace and kiss each other passionately.
The next morning, the boys wake up together, naked. Luisa has risen early. Tenoch and Julio immediately turn away from each other and are eager to return home. The narrator explains that their journey back was quiet and uneventful, and that Luisa stayed behind to explore the nearby coves. The narrator further discloses that Tenoch and Julio began relationships with other girls and stopped spending time with each other.
In a chance encounter in Mexico City a year later, Tenoch and Julio have a cup of coffee, awkwardly catching up on each other's lives and news of their mutual friends. Tenoch informs Julio that Luisa died of cancer a month after their trip, and that she had been aware of her prognosis during the time they had spent together. Tenoch excuses himself because his current girlfriend is waiting for him. Before leaving, Tenoch tells Julio he will see him again. The narrator however, reveals they will never see each other again.
- Maribel Verdú as Luisa Cortés
- Gael García Bernal as Julio Zapata
- Diego Luna as Tenoch Iturbide
- Diana Bracho as Silvia Allende de Iturbide
- Andrés Almeida as Diego "Saba" Madero
- Ana López Mercado as Ana Morelos
- Nathan Grinberg as Manuel Huerta
- Verónica Langer as María Eugenia Calles de Huerta
- María Aura as Cecilia Huerta
- Juan Carlos Remolina as Alejandro "Jano" Montes de Oca
- Daniel Giménez Cacho as Narrator
Cuarón did not want to cast Luna for the role of Tenoch because he was a teen idol and soap opera star. Bernal convinced Cuarón to hire Luna because their strong existing friendship would make the performance of their characters' friendship much easier. Cuarón ultimately hired Luna because he became convinced that their bond would produce a natural and honest performance.
Development
After working on Great Expectations and A Little Princess, Alfonso Cuarón envisioned a film that was not influenced by production techniques used in Hollywood cinema. Cuarón wanted to reject commercial production techniques he had used in his previous films, like dollies, close ups, and dissolves. Instead he embraced a documentary-realist style of filmmaking for Y Tu Mamá También. Before making the film, Cuarón had worked for some time in Hollywood, prompting him to return to his roots in Mexican cinema. In an interview, Cuarón said: “I wanted to make the film I was going to make before I went to film school, and that was always going to be a film in Spanish, and a road movie involving a journey to the beach.”
Road movie
In Y Tu Mamá También, Alfonso Cuarón reimagined the American road movie genre to depict Mexico’s geography, politics, people, and culture. Cuarón wanted to use the road-film genre to challenge mid-20th century Latin-American Cinema movements that rejected the pleasure and entertainment typical of Hollywood commercial cinema created by using fictional characters and story. Cuarón aimed to only borrow the pleasure and entertainment of Hollywood cinema to synthesize with political and cultural exploration of Mexico. Using fictional characters and a story within the documentary-realist style, Cuarón was able to explore Mexico’s geographical, cultural, and political landscapes.
Filming and production
The director and screenwriter were not afraid of developing Y Tu Mamá También during the production process. Cuarón's script was minimal and unelaborate so the actors could contribute to its development during the rehearsal process. Throughout the film the actors improvised. Instead of using high-tech equipment, the entire film was shot with a handheld camera to create a documentary-realist look that mimicked candid footage. In an interview, Cuarón said, "This all goes back to our original idea of 15 years ago, in which we would do a low-budget road movie that would allow us to go with some young actors and semi-improvise scenes and have a bare storyline but not be afraid of adding things as we went."
Locations
The beach scenes in the film were shot near the resort Bahías de Huatulco, in Oaxaca.
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