Rating summary

Movie		4.5
Video		5.0
Audio		5.0
Extras		4.5
Overall		4.5

Y Tu Mamá También Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov July 24, 2014

Nominated for Oscar Award for Best Writing, Original Screenplay, Mexican director Alfonso Cuaron's "Y tu mamá tambien" (2001) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Criterion. The supplemental features on the disc include an original trailer for the film; making of featurette; exclusive new video interview with philosopher Slavoj Zizek; two documentaries with archival and exclusive new interviews with Alfonso Cuaron, director of photography Emmanuel Lubezki, cowriter Carlos Cuaron, and actors Gael Garcia Bernal, Diego Luna, and Maribel Verdu; deleted scenes; and more. The release also arrives with an illustrated booklet featuring an essay by critic Charles Taylor and character biographies by Carlos Cuaron. In Spanish, with optional English subtitles for the main feature. Region-A "locked".

"How do you make love to your girlfriends?"

Mexican director Alfonso Cuaron’s Y tu mama tambien, which translates into And Your Mother, Too, is as much of a film about two boys fascinated by sex as it is a film about a beautiful country of extreme contrasts. Some parts of it are incredibly hilarious, some remarkably sad.

The plot: Tenoch (Diego Luna, Nicotina) and Julio (Gael García Bernal, Bad Education) are best friends. Tenoch is from a rich Mexican family; Julio is from a middle class family. Both have serious girlfriends who are getting ready to go on vacation in Europe for a couple of months.

The girls leave and Tenoch and Julio immediately begin celebrating - by getting drunk and smoking as much pot as they can get their hands on. Eventually, they take a break and attend a wedding where they meet the fine-looking, and older, Luisa (Maribel Verdu, The Blind Sunflowers). Fascinated by her figure, Tenoch and Julio invite Luisa to join them on their trip to the beautiful beach Heaven’s Mouth. When her husband cheats on her, Luisa accepts the offer.

Tenoch, Julio and Luisa head to Heaven’s Mouth. While driving through the Mexican countryside, the three begin discussing their partners, sex lives, and ambitions. Terrific stories are told and secrets revealed. A friendship is also tested.

Cuaron’s Y tu mama tambien has two very contrasting sides. One celebrates youth, freedom, and life in an unbridled fashion. The other is fascinated by death.

As the film progresses a narrator (Daniel Gimenez Cacho) calmly informs us about important facts from Tenoch, Julio and Luisa’s lives, as well as some of the people they meet and spend time with during their journey to Heaven’s Mouth. It is to help us realize that real life is a series of events, meetings, and departures, the significance of which most of us realize long after they occur.

For Tenoch, Julio and Luisa this realization occurs at different points in Y tu mama tambien. For Tenoch and Julio it is at the end of the film, for Luisa it is at the very beginning of it.

Y tu mama tambien is an explicit, frank and very unapologetic film, but not an offensive one. Sex has a very important role in it, and Cuaron never uses it to evoke impure feelings or sensations. On the contrary, because nothing about it is manipulated, it is inoffensive and harmless.

The three leads are spectacular. Bernal and Luna play the two young boys who can’t control their sexual urges to perfection. There is a scene in Y tu mama tambien where they masturbate together in front of a giant pool that is beyond hilarious.

Verdú is also sensational, and arguably the key reason why Y tu mama tambien is such a moving film. Her performance is relaxed but remarkably confident. She undergoes a fascinating character transformation that is very effectively captured by Cuaron’s camera.

The hand-held camera footage could be slightly distracting at times but it is nevertheless effective. Also, many of the panoramic vistas from the Mexican countryside are beautiful but at the same time incredibly disturbing.

Note: In 2001, Y tu mama tambien won the Best Screenplay (Alfonso Cuaron and Carlos Cuaron) and Marcello Mastroianni Awards at the Venice Film Festival. In 2003, the film also won the NSFC Award for Best Foreign Language Film at the National Society of Film Critics Awards.

Y Tu Mamá También Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in its original aspect ratio of 1.85:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, Y tu mama tambien arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Criterion.

The following text appears inside the booklet provided with this Blu-ray release:

"Supervised by director of photography Emmanuel Lubezki, this new high-definition transfer was created in 4K resolution on a Scanity film scanner from the original camera negative. Thousands of instances of dirt, debris, and scratches were manually removed using MTI's DRS, while Digital Vision's Phoenix was used for small dirt, grain, and noise reduction. The original 5.1 surround soundtrack was remastered at 24-bit from the original digital audio master files using Pro Tools HD.

Transfer supervisor: Emmanuel Lubezki.
Colorist: Bryan McMahan/Technicolor, Los Angeles."

The release uses a fantastic brand new high-definition transfer which has been supervised by director of photography Emmanuel Lubezki and approved by director Alfonso Cuaron. I did a number of direct comparisons with Icon Home Entertainment's Region-B release of Y tu mama tambien and can assure you that there are indeed substantial improvements in terms of clarity, image depth, contrast stability, and color saturation. Close-ups, in particular, look terrific, but there are a number of panoramic shots from the Mexican countryside that impress with tremendous fluidity as well (see screencaptures #9, 3 and 4). Furthermore, the light ringing from the Region-B release is completely eliminated and the film now looks naturally sharper (not sharpened). Color saturation is also visibly improved in areas where natural light is frequently restricted. As a result, there is a wider range of solid and very healthy nuanced colors. There are no traces of degraining or sharpening corrections. Overall image stability is excellent. Finally, there are absolutely no damage marks, scratches, stains, debris, or flecks to report in this review. All in all, this is a fantastic presentation of Y tu mama tambien which is guaranteed to please its fans as well as viewers who are going to experience the film for the very first time on Blu-ray. (Note: This is a Region-A "locked" Blu-ray release. Therefore, you must have a native Region-A or Region-Free PS3 or SA in order to access its content).

Y Tu Mamá También Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There is only one standard audio track on this Blu-ray release: Spanish DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1. For the record, Criterion have provided optional English subtitles for the main feature.

The lossless track on the Region-B release of Y tu mamá tambien was already very good. The only difference I can detect with the new lossless track is the slightly better depth in select sequences. (A good example is the footage with the motor boat around the 01.20.40 mark). I did not detect any notable balance improvements -- the dialog and the narration are always very crisp, stable, and easy to follow. There are no pops, cracks, hiss, audio dropouts, or distortions to report in this review. The English translation is excellent.

Y Tu Mamá También Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Trailer - original trailer for Y tu mama tambien. Music only, with English titles and quotes. (3 min, 1080i).

• TV Spot - original TV spot for Y tu mama tambien. In English, not subtitled. (1 min, 1080i).

• Deleted Scenes - presented here are three short deleted scenes. In Spanish, with optional English subtitles.
  
  1. Manuela (1 min).
  2. Stoned (1 min).
  3. Whistle (1 min).

• Slavoj Zizek - in this brand new video interview, philosopher Slavoj Zizek highlights and discusses some of the political overtones and unique themes in Y tu mama tambien. The interview was conducted exclusively for Criterion in 2014. In English, not subtitled. (9 min, 1080p).

• Making of Featurette - a hilarious making of featurette from 2001 with plenty of raw footage from the shooting of the film. The featurette is narrated by actor Daniel Gimenez Cacho, who also narrates Y tu mama tambien, and appears in the Mexican director's first feature film Solo Con Tu Pareja (Love in the Time of Hysteria). In Spanish, with optional English subtitles. (23 min, 1080i).

• Y tu mama tambien - presented here are two documentaries which feature various interviews with director Alfonso Cuaron, director of photography Emmanuel Lubezki, cowriter Carlos Cuaron, and actors Gael Garcia Bernal, Diego Luna, and Maribel Verdu. The first documentary features content that was produced during the shooting of Y tu mama tambien, while the second was completed exclusively for Criterion in 2014.
  
  1. Then - director Alfonso Cuaron explains how Y tu mama tambien came to exist (apparently the story for the film was 'ready' before Solo Con Tu Pareja) and discusses the main characters' unusual journey. Carlos Cuaron reveals that the style of Y tu mama tambien was very much inspired by Jean-Luc Godard's work. Maribel Verdu recalls her initial impressions of the script for the film. Gael Garcia Bernal and Diego Luna discuss their characters. Lastly, Emmanuel Lubezki discusses his professional relationship with Alfonso Cuaron. In Spanish and English, with optional English subtitles where necessary. (11 min, 1080i).
  
  2. Now - director Alfonso Cuaron recalls how his life and career changed after Y tu mama tambien and discusses his personal and professional relationship with Emmanuel Lubezki, as well as some of his film's unique themes. Carlos Cuaron points out the stylistic qualities Y tu mama tambien borrowed from the Nouvelle Vague films. Also included are new interviews with Gael Garcia Bernal, Diego Luna, and Maribel Verdu. (Some of the comments about the specific slang expressions that are used in the film and the shooting of the sex scenes are hilarious). In English, not subtitled. (41 min, 1080p).

• You Owe Me One (2002) - a hilarious short film by Carlos Cuaron about a middle class Mexican family with more than a few dark secrets. In Spanish, with optional English subtitles. (13 min, 1080p).

• Booklet - illustrated booklet featuring an essay by critic Charles Taylor and character biographies by Carlos Cuaron.

Y Tu Mamá También Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

The outrageously funny and truly eye-opening Y tu mama tambien remains Alfonso Cuaron's best film. There is a very special energy in it which is simply missing from the Mexican director's more recent and more expensive films. Y tu mama tambien has been recently restored in 2K and looks magnificent on Blu-ray. There is no doubt in my mind that fans of the film who have been patiently waiting for Criterion to release it in North America will be enormously pleased with the technical presentation as well as the excellent exclusive new supplemental features that have been produced for the Blu-ray release. VERY HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.