''Sexo, pudor y lágrimas'' (''Sex, Shame, and Tears'') is a Mexican film, the second of the so-called New Era of the

Cinema of Mexico Mexican cinema dates to the late nineteenth century during the rule of President Porfirio Díaz. Seeing a demonstration of short films in 1896, Díaz immediately saw the importance of documenting his presidency in order to present an ideal ...

(after '' Like Water for Chocolate'') and the

directorial debut This is a list of film directorial debuts in chronological order. The films and dates referred to are a director's first commercial cinematic release. Many film makers have directed works which were not commercially released, for example early work ...

of Antonio Serrano. The film won five

Ariel Award The Ariel Award ( es, Premio Ariel) is an award that recognizes the best of Mexican cinema. Given annually, since 1946, by the Mexican Academy of Cinematographic Arts and Sciences (AMACC), the award recognizes artistical and technical excel ...

s. The film is based on Serrano's stage play of the same name, which ran for two years. The film broke box-office records in Mexico, grossing MX$118 million (roughly US$11 million). It played for six months, and was seen by more than eight million people in Mexico alone.

Plot

Tomás returns to Mexico after a seven-year trip around the world, to visit his friends Carlos and Ana, a couple going through relationship problems. Ana is seduced by Tomás, who is also her ex-boyfriend, which causes Carlos to kick Tomás out of their home. Although instead of Tomás leaving, Ana leaves and moves across the street to the apartment of their friends Miguel and Andrea, another couple going through problems. The situation becomes a ''battle of the sexes'' when Miguel is kicked-out for cheating on Andrea and sent to live with the "guys" across the street and María, their friend, joins the "girls" in a boycott against all men. Tomas then has a fling with Andrea and gets caught in the act. After seeing the emptiness of his life, punctuated with him making a scene at a local nightclub, Tomas declares his love for Ana before apparently committing suicide by walking into an elevator shaft.

Alternate endings

In the Region 4 DVD version, several alternate final scenes are explored, including Tomas surviving the fall and emerging in a full body cast.

Cast

Demián Bichir Demián Bichir Nájera (; born 1 August 1963) is a Mexican actor. After starring in telenovelas, he began to appear in Hollywood films. He was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actor for his role in '' A Better Life''. Personal life Bic ...

as Tomás *

Susana Zabaleta Susana Zabaleta Ramos (; born September 30, 1964) is a Mexican soprano singer and actress. Early life Born in Monclova, Coahuila, Monclova, Coahuila, she moved to Mexico City in 1985. In 1986 she performed in the Sala Ollín Yoliztli and inter ...

as Ana *

Jorge Salinas Jorge Salinas (born July 27, 1968) is a Mexican television and film actor, best known for his leading roles in telenovelas. Career Salinas then enrolled at Centro de Educación Artística (CEA) in 1990 and after finishing his studies, he recei ...

as Miguel *

Cecilia Suárez María Cecilia Suárez de Garay, known professionally as Cecilia Suárez (Mexican ; born November 22, 1971), is a Mexican actress and a prominent activist working with the United Nations and European Union campaigning against femicide and viole ...

as Andrea * Víctor Huggo Martin as Carlos *

Mónica Dionne Mónica Xóchitl Dionne Lazo (born February 7, 1967) is an American actress born in Waterbury, Connecticut. She is of Mexican descent. Dionne is best known for her roles in telenovelas produced by TV Azteca. She also acted in movies such as '' ...

as María

Sequel

The sequel, '' Sexo, pudor y lágrimas 2'' was released on February 4, 2022 on

HBO Max HBO Max is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. Launched in the United States on May 27, 2020, the service is built around the libraries of HBO, Warner Bros., Cartoon Netw ...

. All the cast from the first film reprise their roles except for

, who appears in photographs and flashbacks.

Awards

* Silver

Ariel Ariel may refer to: Film and television *Ariel Award, a Mexican Academy of Film award * ''Ariel'' (film), a 1988 Finnish film by Aki Kaurismäki * ''ARIEL Visual'' and ''ARIEL Deluxe'', 1989 and 1991 anime video series based on the novel series ...

s from the

Mexican Academy of Film Mexican may refer to: Mexico and its culture *Being related to, from, or connected to the country of Mexico, in North America ** People *** Mexicans, inhabitants of the country Mexico and their descendants *** Mexica, ancient indigenous peopl ...

: ** Best actress: (

) ** Art direction: ( Brigitte Broch) ** Best original score ** Best original script ** Ambientación *Audience Award (XIV Guadalajara Film Festival)

References

External links

* *
Review
on the ''

New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'' site
20 questions to Susana Zabaleta

DVD review

on Zinema.com

on the

Mexican cinema Mexican cinema dates to the late nineteenth century during the rule of President Porfirio Díaz. Seeing a demonstration of short films in 1896, Díaz immediately saw the importance of documenting his presidency in order to present an ideal ...

site of

ITESM Instituto Tecnológico y de Estudios Superiores de Monterrey (ITESM) ( en, Monterrey Institute of Technology and Higher Education), also known as Tecnológico de Monterrey or just Tec, is a secular and coeducational private university based in ...

1999 plays 1999 films 1999 comedy films Mexican comedy films Mexican plays 1990s Spanish-language films Estudios Churubusco films 1990s Mexican films 20th Century Fox films {{1990s-Mexico-film-stub