DVD Review - Solo Con Tu Pareja

Solo Con Tu Pareja was Alfonso Cuaron's first feature film and it was made in 1991. It never had an official release in the US but last month it got a brief release at a few arthouses around the country. Just this past week it came out on DVD. It is also known as Love in the Time of Hysteria but the real translation is "only with your partner."

Tomas (Daniel Gimenez Cacho) is an upper middle class yuppie living in Mexico City. He goes through women with breakneck speed. There aren't many that he doesn't want to bed. Tomas hasn't been feeling well and his doctor (who is also his friend and neighbor) Mateo (the late Luis de Icaza) tells him to come in for some tests. While he is there he meets Mateo's nurse Silvia (Dobrina Liubomirova) and invites her over to his place. Because of his reputation as a great lover she accepts. Mateo and his wife Teresa (Astrid Hadad) are going away for a few days to a medical conference and ask Tomas to look in on their place. Upon Silvia's arrival Tomas realizes that his boss Gloria (Isabel Benet) is also supposed to come over for a business meeting and a little fun. To avoid any complications he gives Gloria Mateo and Teresa's apartment number. While shuffling back and forth between the two women he discovers another neighbor - a flight attendant named Clarisa (Claudia Ramirez). It is love at first sight for him but Clarisa is engaged to a pilot that she lives with. In the meantime, Silvia finds out that Tomas is nothing but a cheating louse and decides to teach him a lesson. Even though his AIDS test comes out negative she types it is as positive and you can only imagine what happens next. There is a twist that I will not tell you about because I don't want to spoil things for those of you who want to see this film.

This film could best be described as a screwball comedy. There are many scenes that are very funny. Some people will wonder how a film about AIDS can be funny. Well, this one is but it is not film about AIDS. It is a film about the consequences of being highly promiscuous (which can be mental and emotional as well as physical). Cuaron also wants to show that AIDS is a disease that can affect anyone regardless of their sexual orientation.

I think this is a very good feature debut and it shows what promise Cuaron had (and had). He co-wrote the screenplay with his younger brother Carlos (who also wrote Y Tu Mama Tambien with him). And the wonderful Emmanuel Lubezki is responsible for the cinematography. The DVD features a documentary containing recent interviews with the Brothers Cuaron and Gimenez Cacho (he has aged quite a bit). There are also two short films included - one is directed by Alfonso and one by Carlos. All in all, I highly recommend this film to those of you who love world cinema.