"Y Tu Mamá También" (2001) is a lively adolescent escapade starring Gael García Bernal as Julio and Diego Luna as Tenoch, best of friends who reside in Mexico City circa 1999. The film follows their involvement with an older woman named Ana (Ana López Mercado), who joins them on an eventful road trip across the Mexican countryside, in search of an elusive and secluded beach they colloquially nickname “Heaven's Mouth”.
The storyline focuses largely on their time spent on the road, as the trio banter and jest while both young men individually vie for the affections of the highly sexualized Ana. Ana’s own story is purposefully opaque, as she flees from a lecherous husband and harbors a consequential personal secret—the ultimate revelation of which bringing striking clarity and renewed perspective to her actions and involvement with the rambunctious pair of teenage misfits.
Co-written and directed by Alfonso Cuarón (“Gravity”, “Roma”), with inspiration from the 1962 French film “Adieu Philippine”, "Y Tu Mamá También" is an energetic and involving coming-of-age parable that delivers a genuine and unexpected emotional charge. It’s highly provocative in its frank display of sexuality, yet at heart, it’s a meaningful tale of growth and personal maturation. At the forefront of a bold new era in Latin cinema in 2001, it's now roundly considered a neoclassic example of exemplary International cinema.
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