Mosquita y Mari

 

    In Mosquita y Mari, Yoli and Mari experience quite a lot of character changes throughout the film. Mari, in particular, was one of those characters that I felt attached to because she demonstrated having so many responsibilities (e.g., helping pay rent, taking care of her sister, etc), yet to the outside world, she's portrayed as a rebel who steals and gets high. When Yoli and Mari start becoming good friends, I found myself feeling really happy for them because I really didn't like Yoli's previous friend group. They irked me, mainly because of the way they were treating her and pushing her around. That friendship group seemed more out of convenience while the friendship with Mari was based on genuine connection and understanding, despite the rough patches. 

    While this movie is labelled as an LGBTQ and romance film, we never see usual depictions of romance in the movie, except for intimate belly rubbing. I was hoping for more romance, but even without the "obvious" displays of affection and intimacy, I could still distinguish when the friendship became more of an intimate relationship (e.g., the prolonged staring, the belly rubbing, etc.). 

    An aspect of the movie that felt extremely palpable/relatable to me were the scenes with Yoli's parents and them reiterating their expectations of her. There were a few scenes when Yoli tried to ask her parents questions about their past and personal lives, which resulted in her parents telling her she needs to focus in school and not lose her way. They also mention that their long-working hours and sacrifices are in order for her to do well in school, which really hit home for me. The whole concept of parental sacrifices seems toxic to me, at least in the contexts that I'm used to hearing them in. With my parents, they always make known the many sacrifices they've made in order for me and my brother to get a good education. Unfortunately, there's also the expectation that my brother and I be grateful for their sacrifices, and if we do anything that they deem is unnecessary, bad, etc., they consider our actions/decisions as a sign of us being ungrateful. The burden of having to live a "good" life in the eyes of my parents is very hefty and extremely taxing. Whenever scenes with Yoli's parents came up, they always remind me of the relationship with my parents.