20 Essential Coming Of Age Movies That Changed Your Life

19. Y Tu Mamá También

Audiences today might hear the name Alfonso Cuarón and immediately think of his visually extravagant theme park ride/movie Gravity, but his earlier coming-of-age movie Y Tu Mamá También is an altogether different affair; a lusty, exotic and sexually-liberated road movie set against the backdrop of Mexico's political upheavals in the late 90s. If Fast Times at Ridgemont High had the censors in a tiff over portrayals of burgeoning youthful sexuality, then Y Tu Mamá También saw them positively frothing at the mouth. But the sensational response to the sex scenes detracted from what is in reality an intimate study of disaffected youths struggling to define their principles. As Roger Ebert observed at the time of its release, the knee-jerk reaction to the depictions of sexuality reflected the skewed priorities of the ratings boards, who were more than happy to condone increasingly violent movies but coy at the sight of sexual intercourse.