Jonas Cuarón is the 25-year-old-son of Mexican director Alfonso Cuarón, best known for his 2001 hit, Y Tu Mama Tambien.
He has been much praised for his debut feature, which tracks the relationship between Diego (Diego Catano), a horny, increasingly handsome teen and Molly (Eireann Harper), the beautiful gringa student who comes to live with his family in Mexico City.
Both youngsters are whiny and quite self-absorbed. Yet somehow, their worlds collide and they bring each other pleasure.
Visually, Cuarón makes the bold (and cheap) move of telling the story through a series of still photographs, while voiceovers provide the dialogue and the characters’ inner thoughts. It’s like a narrated slide show.
The sun-saturated images are easy on the eye and there’s a shimmering wit to the script. But the story is worryingly similar to — and nowhere as good as — Y Tu Mama.
Año Uña feels like a calling card from a promising talent — but, as with a summer romance, it’s not built to last.
Año Uña
