Y tu mamá también

This article is about the Mexican movie. For the song by Asesino, see Cristo Satánico.

Y tu mamá también
Theatrical release poster
Directed by	Alfonso Cuarón
Written by	Carlos Cuarón Alfonso Cuarón
Produced by	Alfonso Cuarón Jorge Vergara
Starring	Maribel Verdú Gael García Bernal Diego Luna
Cinematography	Emmanuel Lubezki
Edited by	Alex Rodríguez Alfonso Cuarón
Music by	Songs: Natalie Imbruglia Frank Zappa Miho Hatori
Distributed by	20th Century Fox
Release date	June 8, 2001 (2001-06-08)
Running time	105 minutes
Country	Template:Film Mexico
Language	Spanish
Budget	$5 million
Box office	$33,616,692

Y tu mamá también (English: "And your mother too") is a 2001 Mexican drama film directed by Alfonso Cuarón, and co-written by Cuarón and his brother Carlos. The film is a coming-of-age story about two teenage boys taking a road trip with a woman in her late twenties; it stars Mexican actors Diego Luna and Gael García Bernal and Spanish actress Maribel Verdú in the leading roles. The film, a road movie, is set in 1999, against the backdrop of the political and economic realities of present-day Mexico, specifically at the end of the uninterrupted 71-year line of Mexican presidents from the Institutional Revolutionary Party, and the rise of the opposition headed by Vicente Fox.

The film is known for its controversial, unabashed depiction of sexuality, which caused complications in the film's rating certificate in various countries. The film was released in English-speaking markets under its original Spanish title, rather than the literal translation to English, and opened in a limited release in the United States in 2002. In Mexico, the film took in $2.2 million in its first weekend in June 2001, making it the highest box office opening in Mexican cinema history.

In the United States, the film went on to gain nominations for Best Original Screenplay at the Academy Awards, as well as a nomination for Best Foreign Language Film at the Golden Globe Awards that year.

Plot

The film combines straightforward storytelling with periodic interruptions of the soundtrack, during which the action continues, but a narrator provides additional out-of-context information about the characters, events, or setting depicted. In addition to expanding on the narrative, these "footnotes" sometimes draw attention to economic/political issues in Mexico, especially the situation of the poor in rural areas of the country.

The story itself focuses on two boys at the threshold of adulthood: Julio (Gael García Bernal), from a leftist middle-class family, and Tenoch (Diego Luna), whose father is a high-ranking political official. The film opens with scenes of each boy having sex with his girlfriend one last time before the girls leave on a trip to Italy. Without their girlfriends around, the boys quickly become bored.

At a wedding, they meet Luisa (Maribel Verdú), the Spanish wife of Tenoch's cousin Jano, and attempt to impress the older woman with talk of an invented, secluded beach called la Boca del Cielo ("Heaven's Mouth"). She initially declines their invitation to go there with them, but changes her mind following a phone call in which Jano tearfully confesses cheating on her.

Although Julio and Tenoch have little idea where to find the promised beach, the three set off for it, driving through poor, rural Mexico. They pass the time by talking about their relationships and sexual experiences, with the boys largely boasting about their modest exploits, and Luisa speaking in more measured terms about Jano and wistfully of her first love, who died in a motorcycle accident when she was a teenager.

On an overnight stop she telephones Jano, leaving a "goodbye note" on his answering machine. Tenoch goes to her motel room looking for shampoo, but finds her crying. She seduces him, and he awkwardly but enthusiastically has sex with her. Julio sees this from the open doorway, and angrily tells Tenoch that he's had sex with his girlfriend. The next day Luisa tries to even the score by having sex with Julio; Tenoch then reveals he had sex with Julio's girlfriend. The boys begin to fight, until Luisa threatens to leave them.

By chance they find an isolated beach. They gradually relax and enjoy the beach and the company of a local family. In the nearby village, Luisa makes a final phone call to Jano, bidding him an affectionate but final farewell.

That evening, the three drink excessively and joke recklessly about their sexual transgressions, revealing that the two boys have frequently had sex with the same women (their girlfriends, as well as Luisa). "Y tu mamá también," Julio jests to Tenoch. The three dance together sensually, then retire to their room. They begin to undress and grope drunkenly, both boys focusing their attentions on Luisa. As she kneels and stimulates them both, they grasp and kiss each other passionately.

The next morning, Luisa rises early, leaving the boys to wake up together, naked. They immediately turn away from each other, and are eager to return home. The narrator explains that they did so quietly and uneventfully, but Luisa stayed behind to explore the nearby coves. He further relates that the boys' girlfriends broke up with them, they started dating other girls, and they stopped seeing each other.

The final scene follows a chance encounter a year later, in 2000, the year that the Institutional Revolutionary Party lost the first election in 71 years. They are having a perfunctory cup of coffee together, catching up on each other's lives and news of their friends. Tenoch informs Julio that Luisa died of cancer a month after their trip, and that she knew she was ill the whole time that the three were together. Tenoch excuses himself, and they never see each other again.

Primary cast

• Diego Luna: Tenoch Iturbide
• Gael García Bernal: Julio Zapata
• Maribel Verdú: Luisa Cortés
• Diana Bracho: Silvia Allende de Iturbide
• Andrés Almeida: Diego "Saba" Madero

All of the film's principal characters share surnames with protagonists from Mexico's history: Spanish conquistador Hernán Cortés, Mexican emperor Agustín de Iturbide, Mexican revolutionary Emiliano Zapata, Mexican president Francisco Madero, and Aztec ruler Tenoch.

Soundtrack listing

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Artist	Length
1.	"Here Comes the Mayo"	Barry Ashworth, Francisco "Paco" Ayala, Randy Ebright, Ismael Fuentes, Miguel Huidobro, Jason O'Bryan	Molotov and Dub Pistols	4:06
2.	"La Sirenita"	Ignacio Jaime	Plastilina Mosh	3:55
3.	"To Love Somebody"	Barry Gibb, Robin Gibb	Eagle Eye Cherry	3:55
4.	"Showroom Dummies"	Ralf Hütter	Señor Coconut	5:29
5.	"Insomnio"	Rúben Isaac Albarrán Ortega, Emmanuel Del Real Díaz, Aleja Flores, Enrique Rangel Arroyo, José AlfredoRangel Arroyo	Café Tacuba	2:59
6.	"Cold Air"	Corner, Coverdale-Howe, Natalie Imbruglia, Pickering	Natalie Imbruglia	5:01
7.	"Go Shopping"	Bran Van 3000	Bran Van 3000	2:52
8.	"La Tumba Será el Final"	Felipe Valdés Leal	Flaco Jiménez	2:44
9.	"Afila el Colmillo"	E. Acevedo, Jay de la Cueva, J.B. Lede, María Rodríguez, Ruiz Carmona, Florentino	Titán, María Rodríguez	2:52
10.	"Ocean in Your Eyes"	Miho Hatori, Smokey Hormel	Miho Hatori, Smokey Hormel	4:02
11.	"Nasty Sex"	Fancisco avier Del Campo, Muriel Rojas Rodríguez, Oscar Rojas Rodríguez	La Revolución de Emiliano Zapata	4:02
12.	"By This River"	Brian Eno, Dieter Moebius, Hans-Joachim Roedelius	Brian Eno	3:03
13.	"Si No Te Hubieras Ido"	Marco Antonio Solís	Marco Antonio Solís	4:47
14.	"Watermelon in Easter Hay"	Frank Zappa	Frank Zappa	9:05

Reception

Y tu mamá también was well-received by critics upon its original release. The film ranking website Rotten Tomatoes reported that 91% of critics gave the film positive reviews, based upon a sample of 126. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 based on reviews from mainstream critics, the film has received an average score of 88, based on 35 reviews. Roger Ebert gave the film four stars out of four, and referred to it as "One of those movies where 'after that summer, nothing would ever be the same again.' Yes, but it redefines 'nothing.'"

Y tu mamá también won awards such as the Venice Film Festival's Best Screenplay award. It was also a runner-up for the National Society of Film Critics Awards for Best Picture and Best Director and was nominated for the 2002 Academy Award for Writing Original Screenplay. The film made its U.S. premiere at the Hawaii International Film Festival.

Movie rating systems in various countries treated the film very differently. It was released without a rating in the U.S. because the distributors believed that a market-limiting NC-17 would be unavoidable. Ratings boards in countries such as France and the Netherlands regarded the film fit to be seen by twelve-year-olds. The MPAA's presumed treatment of this film based on the depiction of sexuality – especially in comparison to its much more accepting standards regarding violence – prompted critic Roger Ebert to question why movie industry professionals were not outraged: "Why do serious film people not rise up in rage and tear down the rating system that infantilizes their work?"

Awards

• New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best Foreign Language Film
• Broadcast Film Critics Association Award for Best Foreign Language Film
• Independent Spirit Award for Best Foreign Film

Nominations

• Academy Award for Writing Original Screenplay (Carlos Cuarón & Alfonso Cuarón)
• BAFTA Award for Best Original Screenplay (Carlos Cuarón & Alfonso Cuarón)
• BAFTA Award for Best Film not in the English Language
• Golden Globe Award for Best Foreign Language Film
• Grammy Award for Best Compilation Soundtrack Album for a Motion Picture, Television or Other Visual Media

Accolades

• Ranked #20 in Empire magazines "The 100 Best Films Of World Cinema".
• Ranked #9 in Los Angeles Film Critics Association's "Films of the Decade".
• New York Times's "The Best 1,000 Movies Ever Made ".
• Entertainment Weekly's "25 Sexiest Movies Ever!".

Notes

• The DVD includes the short film Me La Debes by Carlos Cuarón.

External links

• Y tu mamá también at AllMovie
• Y tu mamá también at IMDb
• Y tu mamá también at Metacritic
• Y tu mamá también at Rotten Tomatoes