It’s not going out on a limb to say that Alfonso Cuarón has directed a wide variety of films. From the sex comedy Sólo con tu pareja to the near-future Children of Men (which we discuss in Episode 11), to the pure fantasy of the third film in the Harry Potter series, to the films we discuss in this episode, it’s pretty much impossible to point to a specific genre of film, or even a specific quirk of his films that allow you to say “And that’s what makes it a Cuarón film.” He just can’t be pinned down.
And yet, so much of what he does is just so good, it kind of makes you a little crazy. But it also means that when he makes these epic-length films, you don’t mind it, because you want to stay in that world as long as possible.
So Sean and Claude start with Y Tu Mama Tambien, which genre-wise lands somewhere between sex comedy and coming-of-age film. In this 2001 film, two teenagers take a road trip to a nearly-fictional beach (if you’ve seen the film, you understand what’s meant by that) with an older, attractive, married woman. It’s all kinds of fun and all kinds of horny, and what ultimately happens is guaranteed to be surprising in some areas and not at all surprising in others.
From there we jump to 2018 and a film called Roma, shot largely on location in Mexico City. It’s a period piece that centers on perhaps one of the most mundane characters in the film, and yet you can’t help but love her, and the people around her. Most of them, anyway.
COMING ATTRACTIONS:
We continue journeying south, clear down to South America, for a couple of films with very different storylines and viewpoints. We’ll begin with State of Siege, from 1972 and directed by Costa-Gavras. It’s a story about political upheaval in a largely-unnamed country. From there we move on to The Secret in Their Eyes, the story of an ongoing murder mystery that’s partly told in flashback. You should definitely see this film before listening to the episode, because the ending isn’t a big twist, but it will definitely shock you.
