The mother of all road trips

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Ah, summer! The glories of sun, sea and sand are like beacons that call out to young and old alike, to partake in the escape from the usual. That’s why summer offers some of the most memorable moments of youth. For many young Filipino boys, for example, it’s the preferred season for the passage to manhood, through time-honored circumcision. But in general, it’s a time for bonding with family and friends, often in the form of a road trip. A car and many miles of pavement — it’s a ready-made adventure ripe with possibilities. That’s why Alfonso Cuaron’s free-spirited Y Tu Mama También is a classic must-watch during summer vacation: It’s the road trip that one hopes to take in one’s own lifetime.

The film centers on two teenage boys: The elitist Tenoch (played by Diego Luna), and his middle-class best friend Julio (Gael Garcia Bernal). It’s summer time, and with no girlfriends in town, the two buddies, like most testosterone-fueled boys their age, are basically planning on high jinks and sexcapades.

At a society wedding, the two boys meet Tenoch’s cousin by marriage, Luisa (Maribel Verdu) who arouses their interest with her raw sensuality and cool openness. They, in turn, make her bola about a secret beach that they call La Boca del Cielo (Heaven’s Mouth), extending an invitation for her to join them on their next visit.

When, a few days later, Luisa does take the two friends on their invitation, a little problem arises, since La Boca del Cielo doesn’t exist! But does that little detail deflate the enthusiasm of the two BFFs? Not one bit. Julio manages to hijack his sister’s car, and the three unlikely companions drive through the Mexican countryside.

As the movie unfolds, however, it becomes evident that the joyride becomes a ride of discovery. What starts off as every teenage boy’s biggest fantasy — the chance to have sex with an older, experienced woman — becomes more complex as Luisa ends up seducing both Tenoch and Julio. There’s more than meets the eye, though, with Luisa in this summer fling. For aside from being trapped in an unhappy marriage, it’s revealed that she’s also dying. How the three enjoy their short time of fun under the sun provide the film its most interesting perspectives. For the boys, happiness is pure and simple pleasure; they are, after all, horny teenagers with all the time in the world. For Luisa, happiness is more a desperate attempt to live life, for time is the one thing that she doesn’t have.

Y Tu Mama También exudes an unblushing sexuality in its treatment. But it’s the nakedness of Tenoch and Julio that’s on view. Perhaps it’s on the right track, as the film is an honest exploration of two boys finding their identity as adults. Diego and Gael are full-frontal fearless in their portrayal of youth at its prime: Gross and annoying one moment, naïve and adorable the next. They provide a vicarious thrill with their joie-de-vivre. Maribel, on the other hand, shows a depth of emotion in her balancing act between sad and happy. Both sinner and saint, she’s a figure of tragedy and generosity rolled in one.

As a counterpoint to the tactlessness and conceit of youth, the director provides a dusty and grimy picture of Mexico — with street demonstrations and armed soldiers manning checkpoints across the countryside. Perhaps an attempt or an accommodation to social commentary? Nevertheless, it seems that Cuaron is suggesting that like Tenoch and Julio, the country is undergoing a period of change. Unfortunately, this theme isn’t explored further.

Like all road trips, whether in Mexico or in the Philippines, the carefree adventure has to end some time. For Luisa, her road ends at the beach, with her contemplating the sea of eternity. For Tenoch and Julio, however, theirs reaches a fork where their separate futures lie ahead. Youth has had its moment in the sun, and life moves on.

For forty-something viewers like myself, Y Tu Mama También inevitably brings back memories of youth. Not only to wish that we could all go back in time to be young again, but also to refresh our view of the world beyond the gridlock of daily traffic in Metro Manila, and the rush to compete in the corporate rat race. For while adult life is full of complications and compromises, it’s still entirely up to us whether or not we live life to the fullest.

(About the author: C. Horatius Mosquera is a marketing and communications practitioner. His interests are writing, books, food and films. He received his A.B. and M.B.A. degrees from the Ateneo de Manila. His writing has received recognition in the Carlos Palanca Memorial Awards in Literature and the Doreen Gamboa Fernandez Food Writing Awards.)