Mosquita y Mari

Aurora Guerro's debut is a one of those rare indie gems where the chemistry and beauty override the low budget.

The film is about Yolanda, a nerdy good girl with immigrant parents who burden her with the weight of their expectations that the sacrifices they make will pay off for their daughter. Into her life trips the titular Mari. Mari is Yolanda's neighbour who is also the same age as her. Instead of two protective parents she has a single mom desperate to make ends meet. Yolanda is seen as a burn out by those around her. But Yolanda (dubbed Mosquita by Mari because of the way she hovers around watching Mari) sees something different. The two quickly strike up an innocent friendship with Mari becoming more academically inclined while Yolanda cuts loose a little. Under it all though begins to flirt the feeling that this could turn into a little something more...

It is a beautiful touching film and writer/director Guerrero gets so much right. It's especially rare to see a story about Chicana girls that doesn't devolve into stereotype and lets them be quiet, contemplative and dreamy. The only thing slightly holding Guerrero back is the lack of budget which does make the film feel a little cheap and student-filmish in places. Still a great movie and I eagerly anticipate whatever she does next.

After observing low ratings and bad reviews it turned out to be an unexpected surprise. I don't know why this movie was largely ignored. To me it looked more than a fine movie. The director exploited to tell the confusion between friendship and homosexual in the early age of puberty.

The cast was very good, it was one of the main reasons for movie to appeal. This lesbian movie had some of great emotional scenes over the struggle of daily life. Especially about the immigrants who find hard to fit in new and rich society. It is not your regular homosexual theme where a girl meets another. Like I said, it briefs some of social problems as well the theme of youngster's first ever relationship when they begin to gain sexual maturity.

It is a coming-of-age tale that centers on a relationship between two Latin teenagers Yolanda and Mari. Mari is a new neighbor to YolandaYolanda, who actually becomes her classmate. When they are assigned to be a study partner, their relationship grows stronger and become a thick friends. At a certain point the bond between them confuses over sexuality. After knowing each other's different family background and problems behind that they decide to be friends forever but affection won't stop haunting them.

There are many movies with a similar theme I have seen. Movies like 'Water Lilies' and 'Jack and Diane' are very close to it, but takes place at different circumstances. This movie is more outspread on its sub-plot than what lesbian theme usual would offer. What I mean is the movie is not all about sex, in fact, there were none sex scenes. It actually speaks about surrounding of the lesbian concept like family, friends, jobs, struggleness, studies etc. Probably everyone won't enjoy it, but still a decent one though. Hoping the director who debuted with this would make more great movies in the near future, wish her a good luck.

Very rarely does a film portray the confusing and beautiful moment of falling in love as a teenager. This story of a young girl called Yolanda, who finds herself learning to deal with her growing feelings toward her best friend Marie, is so accurate it can't help but to catapult you, as the viewer, back to your own moment in time when you had to deal with learning how to figure out feelings that go beyond just friendship. This film does it perfectly in the most subtle of ways. Beautiful film, beautiful story and beautiful acting. Especially good for any young questioning and/or LGB adults out there wanting characters or a story to relate to. I wish this film was around when I was a confused 15 year old girl, it would have given me hope.

I loved this film. When you drill down to that feeling of a new love there are no cultural, sexual or racial boundaries --- its just beautiful and the most wonderful feeling in the world. I am older and I normally wont take time to watch these coming of age stories anymore, but I was bought by the trailer. The acting was fantastic and it was great how the writing didn't focus overwhelmingly on outside influences stopping that powerful feeling. Just two teenagers falling in love. They had a few ups and downs. Especially Mari, poor girl taking on such responsibility -leading to such a bad mistake. I felt that would be the one and only time she did something that drastic and she would heal from that. Their love being the overall focus and a happy ending made this simple and perfect movie. I hope most young folks watch this ...well, older ones too ;-)

"Mosquita y Mari" is one of the best coming-of-age movies I have seen. The friendship that grows between the two main characters, Mosquita & Mari, feels so pure, so believable... Aurora Guerrero perfectly manages to transmit the audience the feelings the two girls are experiencing... and I also think she did a great job with the mothers of both girls. A mother myself, I see in those two characters pieces of real mothers I know... My favorite portrayal is Mosquita's mother and her unspoken frustration about those truncated dreams of her youth. Very little she says on that matter, but yet we can feel it completely.

The music and the photography in "Mosquita y Mari" are also remarkable. Aurora Guerrero does a fine job portraying the bi-cultural world of the characters. This movie is an exceptional addition to the Latino film scene and it is unquestionably a must-see.