Sex bomb! Ana

opez Mercado ,_ Bernal

‘FORCE

action! Bernal with DiegoLuna'

The ladies fell for him after Amores Perros and the gents can only envy him for all the raunchy scenes in his new road movie, but GAEL GARCIA BERNAL isn’t just a pretty face. VVOt‘tlS: Miles Fielder

t’s crap. and unfortunately increasingly common. lor lilm

journalism to concern itsell‘ with celebrity. Particularly

young. sexy celebrities. And sttch writing. l‘rom trashy Hm! to hiin brow Sig/it Am! Sound. is invariably concerned with sex. 'liollywood's sexiest starf‘ ‘Sex bonle ‘Six/ling sexy newcomer!‘

At 23 years ol‘ age and with l‘ull-lipped. dark-eyed good looks strong enough to bring both Johnny Depp and Brad Pitt down from their ‘sex god‘ ()lympic heights. Mexican-born (iael (iarcia Bernal is perl‘ect celeb mag lodder. You‘ll lind his lace adorning the cover ol' the latest issue ol‘ Sig/it And Sound: ‘Mexico’s new cinema sensation‘.

Is The List going to rise above such a cheap angle'.’ .\'o. ol‘

course not. Bernal's new lilm. l' In munui tum/min (Ami )imr .WUI/It’l' 'lém). is a comic. dramatic coming-ol—age road movie with loads of nudity and sex. lirom hand jobs to three-way l‘ucking and let's not overlook boy-on-boy action —— All'onso (‘uaron‘s lilm is lilthy fun. As Bernal says: ‘ll’ you made the lilm in Los Angeles. the actors would be quite weary ol' doing those kinds ol scenes: they would be typecast as porn stars.’

Bernal came to public attention with his lirst l‘eature lilrn. last year‘s l‘oreign language arthottse hit .‘illlU/Y’S l’t'rms. Although. the lilm interwove three Mexico (‘ity dramas with three leading actors and a large supporting cast. it was Bernal who was singled out l'or lame. Playing a young kid who gets mixed up in the illegal world ol' dog lighting. his wide-eyed vulnerable expressions and ditnintttive physique had the ladies please excuse me -- straining against the leash.

Bernal says Anmrcs Perms. in which he was cast towards the end ol‘ his drama studies in London where he still lives. opened doors l‘or him. Bttt. he maintains. he took it for granted at the time. “Those things happen without you noticing.‘ he says. ‘In terms ol' acting. it set the standard lor what I want to do. Also. it‘s been good l‘or getting interesting job ol'l'ers.~

Pine. line. But what about the new lilm and all its rude bits'.’ "l‘hey were very bad sex scenes.’ Bernal says. Indeed. they are. (‘lumsy and awkward. with much grunting and thrusting ol' bums and other things into the air. they end up being very l'unny. ‘What the sex lessons in the lilm are about is what HUI to do.‘ he says. ‘Making ottt on a beach in the back til at car: it's quite difficult. That‘s the way it is.”

In the lilm. childhood l‘riends .lulio (Bernal) and 'l‘cnoch (Bernal‘s real-lilc childhood lriend. Diego Luna) connive to take gorgeous Spanish woman Ana (Ana Lope/ Mercado) on

24 THE LIST " 2?,

Apr 1" ,1}:

‘In Los Angeles

the actors

would be wary

of being

typecast as

porn stars’

a road trip to a distant. unspoilt beach known as Heaven‘s Month. The boys want to luck the older woman. which. to their surprise. Ana is happy to go along with. Ana‘s just dtunped her unlaithl’ul husband. so the prospect of having sex with a pair ol‘ pretty young boys ain't no ugly one. But when Ana shags lirst Tenoch. then .lulio. the best pals fall out and Ana takes charge of the adolescents. And from this point. their sex and love - education begins.

'l‘here‘s a scene towards the end of the lilm in which Ana orchestrates three way sex and then gets the boys to makeup by kissing and perhaps (though we don't see this) shagging one another. It's a very erotic. very passionate and a quite lovely scene. Bttt a little dil‘licult to nail on lilm. no‘.’

"l'wo kids playing two kids and having sex scenes with this girl . . .' rtnninates Bernal. Then. of Mercado. whom he clearly adores: ‘She‘s the best for doing this. She's very. ah. hands on. She just gets on with the job and helps you not to l‘eel uncoml'ortable. We were being very respectful ol‘ her. but she was like. "Ah. c’mon. put the hand where it‘s supposed to go".’

However. Bernal’s l'avourite scene doesn't involve sex. It isn‘t. for example. the one in which .lulio and Tenoch lay on the edge ol‘ a swimming pool wanking (though that’s a nice one). It's the scene in which they light after discovering they’ve secretly slept with each other‘s girlli‘iends. ‘lt's poignant because that‘s what happens with good friends at that age. l‘riends that you lose l'orever.‘ says Bernal. ‘Sometimes we shared some ol‘ the secret codes that you have between l‘riends. that was shared with the characters. But I l‘elt proud that for the first time in our lives. me and Diego behaved professionally.

Bernal is currently in London shooting a romance lilm his 'little brother and sister will be able to see'. Do! The 1. Next. he’ll be working with acclaimed Brazilian lilmmaker Walter Behind The Sun Salles on The .WUIUIIN/U Dir/rim. In that lilm Bernal plays (‘he (iuevera travelling around South America on his bike. So. you‘ll be seeing more of Bernal pl‘OiL‘SSiOliili behaviour. and perhaps less ol' his ass.

Y tu mama también opens Fri 12 Apr. See review. Bernal, Luna and Cuaron introduce their film at UGC, Edinburgh and GFT, Glasgow, Sun 14 Apr.