A new film from Carlos Cuaron, brother of director Alfonso Cuaron, whose works include Children of Men and Y Tu Mama Tambien, which starred both Luna and Bernal. It’s a comedy about two brothers who make it to the big time, but one really just wants to be a singer and the other a pro soccer player. The film already came out in Mexico but is now hitting the United States festival circuit.
Here’s a summary and the video trailer:
Beto (Diego Luna) and Tato (Gael García Bernal) Verdusco are brothers who work at a banana plantation and also play soccer for the village team. Nicknamed Tough because of his personality and football style, Beto dreams of becoming a professional soccer player; Tatos dream is to be a famous singer, and both share the dream of building a house for their mother, Elvira (Dolores Heredia).
They have a change in luck when Batuta, a soccer talent scout, discovers them accidentally. Tato is the first to move to the big city where he becomes the star goal scorer for the prestigious Deportivo Amaranto (Amaranto Club). His baroque playing style earns him the nickname of Corny. Although Beto feels he has been betrayed and left behind, he soon travels to Mexico City to become the goalkeeper for Atlético Nopaleros (Nopaleros Team).
At the peak of glory, they forget all animosity, although it does not last long. At the very real possibility of fulfilling all of their dreams, the siblings must face an innate rivalry as well as their own demons and limitations. Beto is a gambler and allows his addiction to drag him down; Tato is unable to recognize his true talents and squanders every opportunity by pursuing a false idea of celebrity and status.
The dream seems to slip through their fingers. And it is at their worst moment that the brothers find forgiveness trying to help each other while casting headlong towards their individual destiny.
