A lone hiker stumbles upon a seemingly friendly family deep in the wilderness, but their sinister intentions and relationship with a horrifying creature soon turn his journey into a nightmare.
True crime media is notoriously obsessed with the “missing white woman” trope, and yet the vast majority of American murder victims are male, and well over half are people of color.
White audiences saw Peola’s mixed-race passing as a Black woman’s struggle to be white. Black audiences saw it as the rebellion of a Black woman trying to gain privileges only given to white people.
What starts off as a success story for a single mother living below the poverty line, slowly begins to weave itself into a tangled web of greed, guilt, and destruction.
The relationship between the characters is what makes this film stand out, and it’s just all-around fun.
Years before Mexican director, Alfonso Cuaron, was winning Academy Awards for movies like Gravity (2013) and Roma(2018), he directed a small, intimate film about two best friends who decide to embark on an improvised road trip to spend time with an older, attractive woman who miraculously agrees to go with them. Y tu Mamá También is a deep journey into the raw sexuality and friendship of the young protagonists, as well as a subtle social and political commentary on Mexico at the time.
When you don’t factor in the plethora of inferior sequels that have been produced, Luca is one of Pixar’s simplest and most unassuming films in years — and there is absolutely nothing wrong with that. The film thrives on being a visual feast with a warm message for all ages, so much so that its unoriginal storyline doesn’t feel that big of a problem.
