There are movies that are better left untouched, especially if they were huge blockbusters and no one seemed to clamor for a sequel. But in the case of “Sex, Modesty and Tears”, the updating of this relationship drama is welcome, especially in the #MeToo era.
“Sex, modesty and tears 2” premiered Friday on HBO Max. Directed by Alonso Iñiguez, it comes more than two decades after the original by Antonio Serrano, which in 1999 marked a milestone in Mexican cinema with intimate couple stories, attractive characters, a mix of humor and drama, and a catchy song by Aleks Syntek (on this occasion performed by Alejandra Guzmán) that together made it a classic.
Or at least that was the general feeling. Seeing her in 2022, it seems that she did not age very well, especially because of the scene of a non-consensual relationship between a married couple that was also finished off right after with infidelity. Added to that are secrets, fights and macho attitudes.
“It was very impressive to see her again from a current perspective,” Íñiguez said in a recent video call interview from Mexico City. “There was an idea that because a couple was in a marriage they were forced to have sex with the other person and it is suddenly very strong to think about it today.”
Íñiguez set out to fantasize about the consequences of what happened in the first installment and go beyond his heterosexual archetype, but at the same time he wanted to preserve his original characters and reflect on couples, love and sex.
The invitation was well received by the actors Susana Zabaleta and Víctor Huggo Martín, whose characters Ana and Carlos remain united in the sequel as a marriage that has managed to overcome the sexual blockage that Carlos had in the first.
Zabaleta said that she decided to do the second part because of her eldest daughter, Elizabetha Gruener, born after the premiere of the first.
“It was born from the filthy thing I did in ‘Sexo, modesty and tears’, that this (Martín) did not fulfill me, so I went with my husband to do the same,” Zabaleta said jokingly. “And for me it is very important that this testimony of this life remains… so that it will serve the generations to come and so that it will serve our generations to try to understand a little how love is being lived in these times” .
For his part, Martín said that he joined the continuation because, despite the elements that are inappropriate now, the first was “a transgressive film.”
“The invitation for us to do a second part of that was tempting, I was salivating thinking about it,” he added.
In “Sex, modesty and tears 2”, Ana and Carlos are the parents of Matilde (Naian González Norvind) and Mateo, the son of Tomás, the character played by Demian Bichir who dies in the original film, arrives at their house. Played by his nephew, José Ángel Bichir, Mateo comes in search of explanations about his past.
“I think many are going to say now that I am Demian’s son,” said the young Bichir.
The actor recalled that when he was little he was not allowed to see the first film, but he was able to testify how the success he had was a surprise for his uncle.
For her part, González Norvind, daughter of actress Nailea Norvind, did not see the 1999 film until she was asked to play Matilde, a young woman with whom she says she felt identified.
“Matilde and all of the new generation confront the (characters) of the first film a lot. With different truths, they question them and they are not going to blindly accept the authority of these adults,” said González Norvind. “We’re all trying to figure something out and maybe it’s also a reflection of our generation.”
Matilde is a friend of Katy (Ximena Romo), Andrea’s daughter, who plays Cecilia Suárez in both films. Jorge Salinas and Mónica Dionne also reprise their characters in the sequel.
Romo said that the first time he saw the original film was by chance on a plane, months before he knew he would be part of the cast.
In this image released by HBO Max, Ximena Romo, left, and Monica Dionne in a scene from “Sex, modesty and tears 2.” (HBO Max via AP)
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“It seemed to me that there were issues that today we do not see in the same way as back then, there are already things that cause us alarm, things that we no longer agree with and that seem serious to us,” he said. “I was very excited to see that in the sequel that was being dealt with, that the female characters were walking another line, even the male characters were also exploring their own feminine side. I see the result and I see a completely different film than the first one.”
In the film, Katy is in an open relationship with Beny (Paco Rueda) and while going to a nightclub she has a crush on Sam, a girl played by trans actress Victoria Volkova.
“Sam is very introverted, she is a very private person,” she said. “I feel like she comes into the film to be this person that through just being herself and living her life in the most authentic way, but also in the most private way, kind of puts the characters in check and asks you the question of are you being yourself? Are they living the life they really want?
“For me it is an honor to be able to be a champion in this film, to represent many trans people,” she added.
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