This 2001 film won international acclaim, including an Academy Award nomination for best screenplay. I knew that this picture had some gravity to it, but my own experience was one of exploration. In other words, I thought the movie was excellent, but I couldn't put my finger on why.
To give you a brief synopsis, our story takes place showcases Mexico. Two teenagers, Tenoch (with a high-ranking politician for a father) and Julio (from a middle class family in the left), cause all sorts of underage ruckus with each other, their friends they call "charolastros", and their girlfriends. When the best friends meet the older, beautiful yet married Luisa, they jokingly invite her to accompany them on a roadtrip to a fictional beach they call "la Boca del Cielo" or "Heaven's Mouth". Though she initially turns them down, after a teary phone call from her husband admitting his infidelity, Luisa joins the teenagers for the journey...which Tenoch and Julio actually have to make.
As their journey continues, Tenoch, Julio, and Luisa share stories about their various conquests and experiences. Seductions take place, trust is broken and reforged, and a long dusty road is forged that ultimately ends at a beach ironically named "la Boca del Cielo". The action is broken by an anonymous narrator, who explains seemingly unrelated events and factoids about Tenoch, Julio, Luisa, their families, protests, the poverty and dire issues facing Mexico, and their opinions on all of these occurrences.
While this film may seem, and is, on the surface a type of coming of age story set against a romantically authentic shot of Mexico, there is an underlying metaphor that gives this film the acclaim is deserves (among other reasons). This film is an impassioned political criticism of Mexico. Tenoch and Julio serve to embody the fighting political sides of Mexican government. They bicker, enjoy the bounty of their environment, are secretly prejudice of each other, and ultimately are blind to literally anything actually happening in their country. Luisa is Mexico, the older and more experienced woman who tries to bring peace to the two warring sides. Yet she is cheated on, disrespected, and led on a false trip. The film's ending (which I won't spoil) proves this point. While Tenoch and Julio live to adulthood and have moved on, Luisa was not so lucky. Any and all effort for her to find peace and closure in uniting Tenoch and Julio leads nowhere.
If you're up for handling the graphic nature of this film, "Y Tu Mamá Tambièn" is a fine choice. Buen provecho.
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