Cinemascope: Y Tu Mamá También (And Your Mother Too) [2001]

Sunday 13 July 2008

Y Tu Mamá También (And Your Mother Too) [2001]

Before his foray to America and a good half a decade before he made the remarkable psychological thriller Children of Men, Mexican filmmaker Alfonso Cuarón made the smashing sex-comedy Y Tu Mamá También. This bold-as-hell, carefree, whimsical, and deeply introspective film couldn’t have been more different from the gritty, paranoia-laden post-apocalyptic landscape of the latter. Road movies have rarely been as much fun or sexy as the one taken by the two young and hedonistic protagonists – representing literally the two sides of the same coin – along with a sympathetic older, married lady, in search for an elusive paradise on the Mexican Beach called Heaven’s Mouth (I guess the pun was intended). However their journey is anything but heavenly, as simmering jealousies, ego tussles and profound self-explorations lead the once inseparable buddies to the cross-roads of their friendship. Each character carries a baggage which they are reluctant to share. Consequently the self-discoveries and the revelation of the nuances of the personalities of their fellow travelers couldn’t have been more unanticipated or darkly funny. Laced with a sort of frank sexual openness that very few viewers would be comfortable with, unabashed in its usage of titillating innuendoes as well as in-your-face crassness, and filled with bitter humour, a deep sense of nostalgia and wonderfully underplayed pathos, the real journeys of the boys (now men) begin where their memorable cinematic journey concludes.