Y Tu Mama Tambien: Thoughts

Unless you've seen this movie, you probably don't want to read ahead. Then again, if you're already following this blog... be my guest.

So I watched this movie for the first time last night. I remember when I was twelve or thirteen, it was the thing to do. All my girlfriends would gather around a found copy of the movie, watching it hungrily, but somehow, I was never present at the sleepovers where this activity ensued. So the next day, when I heard them giggling about the scandalous content, I was obviously intrigued. Somehow, years passed and I forgot about the sexy movie altogether.

Until last night. Netflix thought I'd enjoy it, I clicked on it, and an hour and forty-five minutes later, it was over.

I really loved it. Yes, it was steamy. Yes, Bernal and Luna are beautiful. But I realized I was glad I had put off that movie till now. I could see past--well, not completely past--the pervasive sex and into the layers Cuaron (director) had created.

"Y Tu Mama" is widely classified as a 'comedy' or 'teenage drama.' After seeing the movie, I beg to differ. It is true, it has its funny parts and it is truly a dramatic story about two teens, but at the heart of this film is nothing less than the task of confronting imminent death, and what that will make us do. Cuaron crafts the story so that we do not know Luisa's secret until the end, after the events of the summer have taken place. But Cuaron inserts moments into the film that seem so out of place for an "older-woman-takes-two-younger-guys-on-the-road-trip-of-their-lives" kind of movie, that you begin to wonder.

There are still many questions stewing in my mind. Did the boys' friendship end because of their sexual encounter? Did they sleep together? Does it even matter? Were they angry with Luisa for having put them in that situation, and, when they learned of her death, did they feel relief? I am not frustrated by these questions, but I like that they stay with me. The film was realistic. It brought up (and discussed!) the conundrums of life, death, sex, and friendship in a wholly unpretentious manner. It was also impossible not to notice the excessive traveling shots that juxtaposed Tenoch's Mexico and the Mexico of the peasants and fishermen.

While aesthetically pleasing, raunchy, and fun, "Y Tu Mama" is about the fragility of human life and the repercussions of sex; it can bring us closer together, but also pull us farther apart.