"Y Tu Mamá También," by Alfonso Cuarón

             

Y Tu Mama También, could be miss-categorized as an extremely uncensored and vulgar film given the great amount of nudity and sex talk. However, the social and political under-layers make it an extremely intricate and more profound movie than a simple ‘coming to age’ chick flick. The hints and details of the political, economical, and social reality of Mexico are given with a subtle and elegant touch, unlike most of the visuals and dialogues. For example, in many occasions, maids are the connecting thread between places and stories. Their silent present keeps everything organized so that their patrons can enjoy their parties and way of life. In this aspect, it reminded me of Chinatown, where Asian employees are always in the background, silently keeping everything clean and spotless.

Alfonso Cuarón took a snap shot of Latin America in this film. We see Tenoch and Julio strolling through the streets of Mexico with the common blindness that most medium to high class Latin Americans have. They are so caught up talking about futile things such as their manifesto or who had sex with more girls, that they don’t even notice the police trucks with long rifles stopping and searching locals, or the various crosses along the street. Nevertheless, the audience is able to build and piece together the political and economic realities of other social classes thanks to the autonomous camera. The camera becoming an extra character with it’s own point of view. It is inquisitive and curious; it tries to catch glances of the not so glamorous realities of this country.

            Cuaron was also great at depicting certain elements that are core to the Mexican culture: death. Death is celebrated and remembered with intrinsic rituals. Tenoch and Julio’s road trip is delineated by the presence of death. They pass through many crosses in the street, which are altars for people who have died on the road. The voice over tends to bring the audience’s attention to these details.

            In fact, the voice over was used in a masterful way. Even though at times is expository, it never becomes redundant or unnecessary. The reason it works so well is that it stimulates the imagination of the audience. For example, at one point, the camera is showing the road ahead of the car and the voice over relates what they (and we) would have seen in this same spot 5 years ago. The description gives away the perfect amount of details to let the audience imagine and see these images. This technique produces a stronger emotional reaction than if it was simply shown.