Y Tu Mama Tambien: A

I must admit, I came into watching this movie alittle precarious. I knew only two things about it and they weren't great things to know: the first was that it contained enough sex to warrant it an NC-17 rating had it been made in America, and the second was that it was written and directed by Alfonso Cuaron, a person whose previous work (the book-to-film adaptiion Great Expectations) I despised. The moment the opening credits began I braced myself for a wildy erotic ride that would leave me cringing every other moment. It is almost nothing to say I was suprised. In fact I was blown away. This movie is so extraordinarily involving, so powerful, so sexy that it begs to be taken for what it is - a hot hot hot teenage road comedy - and for what it isn't - a raw, emotional, passionate character study.

When two friends, Tenoch (Diego Luna) and Julio (Gael Garcia Bernal), decide that a trip to the beaches of Mexico would be the perfect diversion while their girlfriends are off jetsetting in Italy they unknowingly embark on a journey of the mind, heart, and loins. They are also accompanied by an older woman, Luisa (Maribel Verdu) who is everything an older woman is in a movie - wise, affectionate, ineffable - and everything an older woman is not - sad, lonely, intelligent, and hormonal.

As envisioned by Cuaron, who co-wrote the script with his brother Carlos, their exploration of sexuality never veers off into pornography. It's frequent, but also vividly real: this is how real people are when they close their shutters, sip a martini, and hop into bed! The acting is equisite, the tone is lyrical, and the humanity is frank so how could this movie not beg to be viewed by everyone and anyone who has ever grown tired of "coming-of-age" movies? The audience may not always understand what is going on but it doesn't matter: what is happening isn't happening to us, it's happening to them, and trust me when I say what happens to them is breathtaking. I may have walked in unsure but I walked out ecstatic: this is sure to be one of my favorite films of all time.