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Y Tu Mama Tambien Details

2001 Certificate 18
  • Rated:
  • 70
  • from 24,087 members

This beautifully filmed, expertly acted film about two 17-year-old, middle class Mexican boys on summer break is deceivingly complex. The basic plot of the film is that best friends Tenoch (Diego Luna, BEFORE NIGHT FALLS) and Julio (Gael Garcia Bernal, AMORES PERROS), who think of nothing but sex, convince a beautiful 28-year-.. Read more

Starring Gael Garcia Bernal, Maribel Verdu, Diego Luna
Director Alfonso Cuaron
Genres Drama, Romance, World Cinema

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Y Tu Mama Tambien

This beautifully filmed, expertly acted film about two 17-year-old, middle class Mexican boys on summer break is deceivingly complex. The basic plot of the film is that best friends Tenoch (Diego Luna, BEFORE NIGHT FALLS) and Julio (Gael Garcia Bernal, AMORES PERROS), who think of nothing but sex, convince a beautiful 28-year-old woman, Luisa (Maribel Verdu), to go on a road trip with them to a nonexistent beach. They get lost. They flirt and giggle and fawn over Luisa hoping to win her over with their boyish charms. And that's about it. But that simple plotline merely provides structure for the poetry and meaning that is woven into the film with photography and narration. Periodically throughout the film, while the action continues normally, the sound stops. A voice over then gives information--sometimes a brief biography of one of the characters (birth date, name of father and mother, consequences of birth, primary childhood experiences), or a note about what each of the characters is really thinking, or a news report or historical comment that brings Mexico's tangled politics into the context of daily life. Never is the voice connected to a character in the film. It simply floats. Meanwhile, underwater photography, roving shots of the Mexican countryside, and affectionate close-ups on the characters communicate a solemnness that is not present in the plot. All of these pieces fit together easily, resulting in an excellent, whole, thoughtful film.

Starring Gael Garcia Bernal, Maribel Verdu, Diego Luna
Director Alfonso Cuaron
Studio ICON HOME ENTERTAINMENT
Run time DVD: 1 hr 41 mins
Certificate Certificate 18
Genres Drama, Romance, World Cinema
Language DVD: Spanish
Dubbed English
Released DVD: 07 Oct 2002
Production year: 2001
Format DVD
  • Critics' reviews of Y Tu Mama Tambien

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  • 3 stars out of 5

    Director Alfonso Cuarón's comic road movie became the biggest home-grown box-office hit in Mexican history and it's tempting to see it as a mere foreign-language version of American Pie or Road Trip. But there's more to it than sex (which, far from titillating, is shown in all its greedy, awkward teenage haste) as two high school graduates (played by Diego Luna and Gael García Bernal) borrow a car and head off for the mythical “Heaven's Mouth” beach with unhappily married older woman Luisa (Maribel Verdú). Throughout the journey, Cuarón highlights the economic rift between Mexico's middle classes and poor with comments by a deadpan narrator. It may not be in the same league as Amores Perros (which also starred superstar-in-waiting García Bernal), but it did lead to Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban for Cuarón.

    • Radio Times
  • Most helpful member's review of Y Tu Mama Tambien

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  • 45 out of 45 people found this review helpful

    Rated - 5 stars

    Highly charged, warm and engaging road trip

    A beautiful film - a touching portrait of teenage friendship and the angst/uncertainty/braggadocio that comes after puberty as young men/boys search for a sexual identity. It sounds heavy, but isn't - it's supremely watchable with touching emotional performances throughout, and the sexual energy is unbelievable.

    Watch it!

      • tquinlan from Bedford
  • Most recent members' review of Y Tu Mama Tambien

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  • 3 out of 3 people found this review helpful

    Rated - 2 stars

    Not what I thought

    This film got such great reviews that I expected more. I liked the landscape of Mexico and many of the camera angles were interesting. But nothing seemed to happen in the film except a lot of talking about and thinking about sex. I usually really enjoy road trip films. But not this one.

      • A customer from London, UK
  • News and features

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    Y Tu Mama Tambien

    Luna to make directorial debut

    • 26 Aug 2009

    Mexican star Diego Luna is stepping behind the camera to make his directorial debut with a dramatic new movie. The Y Tu Mama Tambien actor will take charge of Abel, which is being produced by John Malkovich's compay Mr. Mudd. The film will unravel a family drama from the perspective of a young child, and will star Luna's Just Walking co-star Jose Maria Yazpik. Malkovich and his partners have lined up almost £2 million in funding from private investors and the Mexican state of... Read more

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Rating breakdown

24,087 Member ratings
  • 100
3,060
  • 90
2,756
  • 80
5,832
  • 70
4,378
  • 60
3,487
  • 50
1,790
  • 40
1,112
  • 30
632
  • 20
678
  • 10
362

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    • Y Tu Mama Tambien
      This beautifully filmed, expertly acted film about two 17-year-old, middle class Mexican boys on summer break is deceivingly complex. The basic plot of the film is that best friends Tenoch (Diego Luna, BEFORE NIGHT FALLS) and Julio (Gael Garcia Bernal, AMORES PERROS), who think of nothing but sex, ...