Güeros

With more than a passing stylistic nod to the early French New Wave, filmmaker Alonso Ruizpalacios's Güeros (a derogatory reference to light-skinned Hispanics) ostensibly centers on Tomás (Sebastián Aguirre), an adolescent quasi-juvenile delinquent whose constant pranks drive his mother to send him to Mexico City to stay with his slacker student older brother Sombra (Tenoch Huerta) and the latter's nate, Santos (Leonardo Ortizgris), in a dreary hi-rise apartment block. Set in 1999, against a backdrop of real-life student riots (which play a substantial atmospheric role here), the film shifts gears after Tomas joins his brother, focusing on the bumbling bohemian exploits of Sombra and Santos, who mindlessly engineer one picaresque misadventure after another. Winner of multiple Ariel awards (Mexico's Oscar), including Best Picture, this is recommended. (M. Sandlin)