Y Tu Mama Tambien

2001 Comedy Drama

Mexican-born, New York-based filmmaker Alfonso Cuarón directed this Mexican box-office smash hit about a pair of randy upper-class buddies that sparked some controversy for its frank depiction of drug use and sexual exploration. With their respective girlfriends away in Europe, Julio (Gael García Bernal) and his upper-class friend Tenoch (Diego Luna) are looking forward to a summer full of drink, drugs, and cheap meaningless sex. During a wedding, they meet Luisa (Maribel Verdú) -- the 28-year-old wife of Tenoch's scholarly cousin -- and try to convince her to go on a road trip to Heaven's Mouth, a made-up beach paradise the two claim is on the Oaxacan coast. To their surprise, Luisa -- who is looking to escape her troubled life for a spell -- agrees to go along. Two days into the trip, tension starts to build between the two friends: Luisa has had sex with each, and now both lads are not-so-quietly vying for her affection. Soon simmering jealousies boil over into savage arguments, threatening to completely destroy their friendship. After an enormously successful run in Mexico and Guatemala, this film was screened to much acclaim at the 2001 Venice, Toronto, and New York Film Festivals. more..

Director: Alfonso Cuarón

Starring: Maribel Verdu, Gael García Bernal, Diego Luna, Maria Aura, Diana Bracho

Reviews

  • Echoes the unmistakable freshness and excitement of the Nouvelle Vague, the sense of joy in being alive and making movies, that made those works distinctive and unforgettable.

    Kenneth Turan - Los Angeles Times

    27 May 2013

  • One of those movies where "after that summer, nothing would ever be the same again." Yes, but it redefines "nothing."

    Roger Ebert - The Chicago Sun-Times

    27 May 2013

  • Sad, funny, sexy, and altogether marvelous.

    Lisa Schwarzbaum - Entertainment Weekly

    27 May 2013

  • Cuaron's hot-blooded, haunting and wildly erotic film revels in the pleasures of the flesh without losing touch with thought and feeling.

    Peter Travers - Rolling Stone

    27 May 2013

  • Can be taken on many levels, and that's why it works so completely.

    Claudia Puig - USA Today

    27 May 2013

Awards

  • Best Writing, Original Screenplay

    Academy Awards (2003)

     
  • Best Film Not in the English Language

    BAFTA Awards (2003)

     
  • Best Non-American Film (Bedste ikke amerikanske film)

    Bodil Awards (2003)

     
  • Best Foreign Language Film

    Boston Society of Film Critics Awards (2002)

  • Best Foreign Independent Film - Foreign Language

    British Independent Film Awards (2002)