In case you don't know, this movie is (a) in Spanish, set in Mexico and (b) about sex. And moreso, about teenage sex. I know... you're shocked, shocked...that teenagers are having sex. And not just prom night either. If you can't handle that, read no further, and for Heaven's sake, don't even start watching it.
Julio and Tenoch are best buds in an upper middle class Mexican existence. They have girlfriends who are as red-blooded as they are. They drink, smoke weed, and other semi-adult activities. When the GF's go abroad to study, the boys are at loose ends, with not much to do during the summer.
At a wedding they meet an intriguing woman Luisa, maybe 10 years older than them. They flirt with her and invite her to go to the beach. When an unusual life twist hits her, she surprisingly agrees to their road trip. Julio and Tenoch have to hustle to figure out how and where they will go.
Set in the 1980s-early90s? it is before the age of GPS and Google Maps. They load up the old station wagon and head in general direction of the coast, not quite sure where they are going or why. Luisa seems to have not much more of a plan. And without a plan among the 3 of them, anything can happen, right?
No more can be said of the plot. But this movie is perfectly timed, pre-9/11/01. There's a sense of foreboding, that some storm is about to come. The clashes of growing up, entering the adult world, rich urban Mexico v. poor rural Mexico, old customs v. new ways, really come together, keeping the viewer on the edge just slightly.
Billed as a road trip, coming of age, it hits that easy target but continues upward. The actors even look like the age they're supposed to be- again, very unusual for a movie with such a sex-filled topic. For a teenage drama, it's perhaps the most adult take on the topic that I've seen.
* * * * (highest rating)
