Y Tu Mama TambienI had some trepidation approaching this film. The brief synopsizes I’d read of the film emphasized how “erotic” it was to such a degree that I wondered if it was almost pornographic. But it was praised so highly by filmspotters, that I figured I’d give it a chance.
Well, the first scene is pretty explicit, shockingly so. But it turns out it is a wonderful little drama about two older teenage boys and an older woman who go on a trip to a beach. Yes, there are a lot of sexual undertones and a couple sex scenes (beyond the first scene). But the important part of the film is how the woman teaches them to have relationship—not only with women, but with each other. They gain a full education on what it means to be faithful, to forgive, and to balance responsibility with joy. This is about character growth, not sex. Well, not primarily about sex.
Technical—5/5—I loved the camera work here, the unique angles, especially when they were driving and a lot of the shots come from outside.
Interest—4/5—The earlier scenes which were laying out the boys’ characters were a little dull for me. But once they went on the trip and their discussions in the car and her deep sorrow—it was all good and I was caught.
Tension—4/5—Certainly a fair amount of relational tension on occasion, especially in the middle part of the film.
Emotional—3/5—I didn’t really connect to the characters, see below.
Characters—3/5—Look, I believed in the characters. I did. But they were so separated from me or the people I knew that I just couldn’t relate. So the characterization was fine, but the boys still seemed like cartoons of horny, out-to-have-fun teen boys—but I wasn’t one of these boys and I didn’t know them. Still don’t. What the woman was doing made sense by the end of the film, but, again, I don’t know if I know of anyone like this.
Theme—4/5—The need to live life to the fullest in relationship. Pretty well realized.
Ethics—5/5—Actually, there are a lot of ethical questions brought up in this film, all relating to the right and wrong in relationship. It openly talks about faithfulness, keeping to principle, forgiveness and freedom. Not what I’d call a textbook film, but the questions brought up were excellent. The most important thing was the hurt that was expressed when an ethical principle is broken. These aren’t arbitrary ideas that can be thrown away if you don’t care for them. And the seriousness with which the boys take relationships become the cornerstone of their maturity. Excellent.
Personal—1/5—There was nothing I could connect to in the film, which really made it fall flat for me. That was disappointing.
While there’s a lot of things to like about this film, I couldn’t really connect to the characters, and that leaves it off my top 100 for certain.
1. Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind
2. In America
3. Rear Window
4. Amelie
5. The Red Shoes
6. Edward Scissorhands
7. Princess Mononoke
8. The Dark Knight
9. Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back
10. Tideland
11. The Brothers Bloom
12. I [Heart] Huckabees
13. I’m Not There
14. Close Encounters of the Third Kind
15. The Man Without A Past
16. Dog Day Afternoon
17. Brick
18. District 9
19. Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope
20. Pirates of the Caribbean: Curse of the Black Pearl
21. Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter... and Spring
22. 50 First Dates
23. Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade
24. Rachel Getting Married
25. The Godfather
26. The Son (2003)
27. Raising Arizona
28. How To Train A Dragon
29. Do The Right Thing
30. Adaptation
31. Cloudy With A Chance of Meatballs
32. Scizopolis
33. Buckaroo Bonzai Across the Eighth Dimension
34. Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai
35. *ucking Amal/Show Me Love
36. Three Kings
37.
Y Tu Mama Tambien38. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
39. The Science of Sleep
40. Grizzly Man
41. Who Framed Roger Rabbit?
42. Scarecrow
43. Fitzcaraldo
44. Zelig
45. Harold and Maude
46. Repulsion
47. Mister Roberts