Y TU MAMA TAMBIEN (2001)

I have found in doing this project that I like the foreign films the best. There is an overt frankness in dealing with relationships and sexuality that make the movies very sensual to me. American romantic comedies just do not pack a punch like the foreign films, which defy traditional genres. Perhaps it is because American movies are pandering to a wider audience. Indeed, the film industry is exactly that – an industry, a business. If American studios made the kind of movies the Spanish, French, and Mexicans did, conservatives would be in an uproar. This is not to say that I do not appreciate subtlety, but sometimes the layers of schlock undermine the subtle sensuality. It just goes to show, this country needs a new approach in dealing with sex and sensuality so it is not so taboo to make the kind of movies everyone else in the world seems to enjoy freely. Enough politicizing…

When asked to make my next sensual selection, I immediately thought of "Y Tu Mama…" This movie lingers in my brain, its sun soaked Mexican landscape providing me with fantasies of my own road trip, my own secret beach. This movie makes me want to set out in search of paradise, stopping at taquerias for beer and tacos along the way. It makes me want to pull over to the side of the road to have sex on hot leather car seats. It makes me want to don a straw cowboy hat and a halter top, makes me want to hold my arm wide outside the car window and throw my head to the sun. It makes me want to settle down on the coast and allow myself to be ferried around by a fisherman and his family. I want to swim out into the ocean and laugh hysterically because I don’t have a care in the world. Who doesn’t watch this movie and think about their ultimate road trip? What would yours be?

While immature, there is no denying that Tenoch and Julio are two fine looking young men (isn’t it nice to see full male nudity for once?!). One of the things I found so sensual about this movie is how Luisa takes charge of these boys and tries to teach them how to be men by sharing her own experiences with sex and relationships. I think it is also sensual the way she embraces the adventure of their journey. You never see her ask if they know where they are going or how much longer it will take to get to their destination. Luisa soaks in every element of the trip – from the conversations with the boys, to the interactions with the rural Mexicans – because she left her inhibitions in Mexico City. I have a hard enough time forgetting my inhibitions and learned much by watching Luisa shed hers.

Despite the depressing ending, I felt such warmth and energy in this movie. I remember the winding roads and all the stops along the way like I was the fourth passenger. That is what I want out of a movie – to be taken in and to feel connected to the whole story. The fact that there is a story, this is not just an orgy on wheels, makes this movie smart and moving, and most important to this movie – extremely sensual.