THE MEXICAN NEWER WAVE

By Raymond Benson

At the turn of the Millennium, several film directors from Mexico were gaining attention and acclaim—guys like Alfonso Arau, Alejandro Gonzales Iñárritu, Guillermo del Toro, and this year’s Oscar-winner as Best Director, Alfonso Cuarón (for Gravity). Cuarón’s career trajectory has been, for me, the most interesting of the bunch. He broke into the international scene with the 2001 coming-of-age drama, Y Tu Mamá También, and followed that with, of all things, the megahit Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, which, I argue, is the best of all eight Harry Potter movies. The terrific dystopian thriller Children of Men followed that, and then came Gravity.

Other than the superb handling of each specific film’s material, there isn’t much similarity between these pictures, and yet it’s apparent that Cuarón brings an auteur sensibility to his work. This is most evident in the more personal Y Tu Mamá También, a film Cuarón made in his native Mexico with no Hollywood studio in sight. The director and his brother Carlos Cuarón claim in the terrific new extra of recent interviews about the making of the film that the picture is not autobiographical. However, a much of the world in which our two high school-age protagonists exist is similar to the more middle-to-upper-class upbringing the Cuaróns experienced.

Tenoch and Julio (honestly played by Diego Luna and Gael García Bernal), are typical, urban, horny hormone-raging teenagers ready to graduate from school and step out into adulthood. But for that to happen, a rite of passage must occur to shake the boys out of decidedly vulgar adolescence, mischief-making, and carefree attitudes.

Enter an older unhappy married woman, Luisa—Maribel Verdú, in a tour de force performance—whose tragic secrets motivate her to recklessly accompany the boys on a road trip to “the beach.” The journey is a rite of passage for her, too, but the teens don’t know this. What happens on that trip will change the two boys’ lives forever. In essence, the film is a frank and modern Summer of ’42 meets Jules and Jim. In fact, Y Tu Mamá También does seem to be inspired by the French New Wave—not only Jules and Jim but also, as revealed by the Cuarón brothers in the documentary, Godard’s Masculin Féminin. The detached, omniscient voice-over narration in Y Tu Mamá evokes these 1960s classics in a more contemporary context.

And, like Godard’s films, Y Tu Mamá contains commentary on the then-current political situation in Mexico, when the ruling party of 70-plus-years was voted out. The upheaval, while not directly affecting our three characters, is constantly in the background.

The film is also sexually explicit. The picture was released in the USA unrated, which means it otherwise would have received the problematic NC-17. The raw naturalism of the sex scenes is indeed shocking, but without it the movie would not have the impact that it does. As it is, Y Tu Mamá También packs a punch. The Big Reveal about Luisa at the end of the story can possibly change in an instant a viewer’s reaction to the film up to that point. Along the way, you will have laughed, cringed, laughed some more, and observed a loss of innocence as it often occurs—unexpectedly and with deeply emotional prices to pay.

All three leads are exceptional. Cuarón was fortunate to employ actors who courageously bared their souls—as well as their skins—to make this truly remarkable, highly recommended film.

Criterion’s new, restored 2K digital film transfer is gorgeous (the cinematography is by the great Emmanuel Lubezki). The Blu-ray features a 5.1 surround DTS-HD Master Audio soundtrack. Extras include vintage and new behind-the scenes documentaries featuring the director, cast, and others; Carlos Cuarón’s very funny short film You Owe Me One (2002), a new interview with philosopher Slavoj Žižek about the film’s social and political aspects, and deleted scenes.

This one’s a keeper.

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