There Was a BOMB Under the Table?!!
Like everyone else in the world, I loved Y Tu Mama Tambien. But something's been niggling at me since I saw it: the third act revelation that the older woman, Luisa, is dying.
Why make this a reveal? The character has the information, why can't we? It would have been just as dramatic and much more poignant for us to have known all along, and to watch as she experiments-slash-self-destructs on the trip. We'd have understood her journey as we were in it, instead of after the fact.
Most of the time, you don't get much out of a reveal. It's a big moment, but that's all. It's harder, but putting the information up front and then seeing what the characters do with the information is often going to create a richer experience.
So, to sum up: fewer reveals, more threesomes.
Like everyone else in the world, I loved Y Tu Mama Tambien. But something's been niggling at me since I saw it: the third act revelation that the older woman, Luisa, is dying.
Why make this a reveal? The character has the information, why can't we? It would have been just as dramatic and much more poignant for us to have known all along, and to watch as she experiments-slash-self-destructs on the trip. We'd have understood her journey as we were in it, instead of after the fact.
Most of the time, you don't get much out of a reveal. It's a big moment, but that's all. It's harder, but putting the information up front and then seeing what the characters do with the information is often going to create a richer experience.
So, to sum up: fewer reveals, more threesomes.
posted by Jennica at 10:19 a.m.
3 Comments:
I totally agree that there should be more threesomes in movies, but I have to politely disagree about the rest. I think that in this movie there were hints about the reveal. We knew something was up early on when we see her at the hospital and later crying when she calls her husband. It's been a while since I've seen the movie, but I remember not being that surprised at the reveal.
That was indeed very polite!
Okay, I suppose you're right about the hints. But my question remains: why be secretive at all? Why not name what's going on with her and go from there? What does the story get out of creating mystery around her illness? This might seem like a really trivial point (and as you know, I do have a tendency to harp on little things just 'cause they bug me)... but this happens in stories all the time-- movies dole out information like it's a subplot... like it's a story thread of its own. But it's not. Why this structure?
I suppose I should be happy as long as we agree on the threesomes aspect. I mean, really, people. Why so few threesomes?
I loved this movie as well (although i'm tired of the 'woman die so men can cry' storyline). That said, I didn't like that the info was withheld either. I'm totally biased though because I really hate big reveals anyway. To me, they're almost like a cheat, like the writer doesn't trust the audience with the info, or doesn't trust him/herself with the material enough to get right in there with all the messy emotions and the tough stuff. It creates a distance between the audience and the character, and it always makes me a little sad when there is a big reveal because I mourn for the experience that I could have had if I'd known...
and please, oh please, more threesomes. *especially* with two heterosexual men. yum.
Post a Comment
<< Home