MEXICAN CINEMA

QUITE LITERALLY THE WORST THING YOU CAN SAY TO SOMEONE

DIR: ALFONSO CUARON PREMIERED: 8TH JUNE 2001 MEXICO:

AUDIENCE & INDUSTRY

THE CHANGING POLITICAL LANDSCAPE IN MEXICO, COUPLED WITH THE FREEING UP OF FUNDING AND IDEAS AND THE INTERNATIONAL BOX OFFICE SUCCESS OF OTHER MEXICAN NEW WAVE FLMS, WAS THE BREEDING GROUND FOR Y TU MAMA TAMBIEN

DEPICTION OF DRUGS AND SEXUAL EXPLORATION. THE WAY MEXICAN ITSELF WAS REPRESENTED

2001 VENICE, TORONTO AND NEW YORK FILM FESTIVALS

UNUSUALLY FOR MEXICAN CINEMA, FILM PRODUCTION WAS FUNDED ENTIRELY PRIVATELY. THE FILM WAS FUNDED BY A MEXICAN FOOTBALL AND HEALTHCARE COMPANY AND A NEW YORK PRODUCTION HOUSE

THE FILM EMBRACES AMERICAN CULTURE, A HOLLYWOOD ROAD MOVIE AND VIBRANT SOUND TRACK

IT FOLLOWS THE JOURNEY OF TWO OVERSEXED ADOLESCENTS MOVING TOWARDS SELF AWARENESS AND DISCOVERY

JULIO & TENOCH WERE OBLIVIOUS TO THE WORLD AROUND THEM, BUT AROUND THEM A WHOLE CULTURE WAS BEING STRIPPED IN FRONT OF THEIR EYES

'SOCIETY IS FAR MORE MATURE THAN OUR GOVERNMENT' CARLOS CUARON

TEENAGERS ARE FORCED TO ENGAGE AND CONSIDER THE SOCIAL ISSUES RAISED THEMSELVES

....... TO APPEAL AND SELL GLOBALLY

INEQUALITY OF CLASS, THE BREAKDOWN ON COMMUNICATION BETWEEN GENERATIONS ,SEXUAL ANXIETY

INDIVIDUAL & NATIONAL IDENTITY, PERSONAL GROWTH & DISCOVERY

IN THIS SESSION WE WILL BE LOOKING AT THE STLE AND THEMES PRESENT IN THE FILM

MORE COMPLEX THAN A ROAD MOVIE, AT IT'S HEART LIES A REBELLIOUSNESS AND A SOCIAL CONSCIENCE

RESPONSIBLE FOR THE SEEMINGLY ACCIDENTAL OBSERVATIONS OF EVERYDAY LIFE

THE CAMERA IS FREQUENTLY DISTRACTED BY SNAPSHOTS OF DAILY INJUSTICE IN MEXICO

REALISM IS KEY TO THE SUCCESS OF THE FILM. LUNA ( TENOCH) & BERNAL ( JULIO) WERE FRIENDS AND THE OBVIOUS CHOICE FOR THE ROLES

WELL KNOWN IN NATIVE SPAIN, BUT WAS NOT ALLOWED TO MEET THE BOYS BEFORE FILMING STARTED

LOTS OF DOCUMENTARY STYLE FILMING, WIDE SHOTS, STATIC SHOTS GROUP SHOTS

CHATTY, NATURAL, LITTLE ATTEMPT TO EMPATHISE DIALOGUE OVER BACKGROUND SOUND

THE JARRING EFFECT OF THE NARRATION RE-ENFORCES THE LINK BETWEEN PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE

A CONSTANT PRESENCE : THE VOICE OF THE LAND OF MEXICO

THE V.O IS DRY, CLINICAL, DISTANT AND CUT OFF, THE EFFECT IS NOT EMOTIVE BUT A CALM, CONSIDERED REFLECTION OF WHAT HAS HAPPENED

IN THE CLOSING SEQUENCE THE NARRATOR TELLS THE AUDIENCE WHAT A MESS MEXICO IS

THE PHYSICAL JOURNEY IN SEARCH OF HEAVEN'S MOUTH & THE EMOTIONAL JOURNEY OF THE BOYS

SEX IS THE EMOTIONAL FORCE IN THE NARRATIVE DRIVE, BUT THE FILM ISN'T ABOUT SEX IT'S ABOUT MEXICO

LANGUAGE IS LINKED TO REPRESENTATION, JULIO & TENOCH USE DIALECT THAT WILL APPEAL TO MEXICAN YOUTH

TENOCH IS AN AZTEC NAME CYNICALLY CHOSEN BY HIS FATHER IN ORDER TO GIVE HIS POLITICAL PERSONA ETHNIC CREDIBILITY

JULIO'S SURNAME IS ZAPTA A KEY FIGURE IN THE MEXICAN REVOLUTION.

LUISA'S SURNAME IS CORTES, THIS IS THE NAME OF THE CONQUISTADOR WHO CONQUERED THE MEXICO OF AZTEC 16TH CENTURY

SEVERAL SCENES IN THE FILM BREAK SEXUAL TABOO'S

THE FILM CAUSED PROTESTS GLOBALLY, THESE ARGUMENTS WERE COUNTERED BY ARGUMENTS CONNECTED TO REALISM .

IT WAS RATED AS C IN MEXICO (ADULT ONLY) : THE GOVERNMENT WERE UPSET BY THE WAY MEXICO WAS DEPICTED

CUARON LODGED A LAWSUIT AGAINST THE GOVERNMENT CITING VIOLATION OF FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION

HE COMPLAINED HIS TA WERE EXCLUDED FROM WATCHING THE FILM, THE SEX EDUCATION LOBBY THEN BACKED THE FILM AND SAID IT WOULDN'T BE OUT OF PLACE IN A SEX ED PROGRAMME

HE ADMITTED 'TEN YEARS AGO IT WOULDN'T HAVE BEEN POSSIBLE TO SHOW IT IN THE COUNTRY AT ALL