Sony Classics to Bring Sundance Title “Rudo Y Cursi” to North America

A scene from Carlos Cuaron's "Rudo Y Cursi." Image courtesy of Sundance Film Festival.

Sony Classics confirmed its North American rights acquisition of Carlos Cuaron’s “Rudo Y Cursi,” which will have its U.S. premiere at the 2009 Sundance Film Festival. The film stars Gael Garcia Bernal and Diego Luna, who last starred together in Cuaron’s “Y Tu Mama Tambien.” In its three weeks in theaters in Mexico, the film is already one of the top five grossing films of all time.

Additionally, the film’s soundtrack has reached number one on the charts, including a solo by Bernal singing a “norteno” cover of Cheap Trick’s “I Want You to Want Me.” “Rudo Y Cursi” is also receiving box office success in Argentina where it’s already in theaters.

In the film, Tato (Bernal) and Beto (Luna) play two brothers living a hard life of manual labor in rural Mexico. They have a simple dream of saving enough money to build their mother her dream house, but fate has other plans. A friendly game of soccer leads to first one, then the other being taken on by the nation’s top talent scout, Batuta, resulting in sibling rivalry. Suddenly, both are thrust into living the high life of star athletes.

Meanwhile, the two are forced to compete on rival teams, and bitterness brews between them. Mutual trust gives way to resentment and betrayal, while the dangers of their wild new lifestyles threaten debt and the safety of their entire family. The tension grows further as their two teams face each other in an important game. They face each other on the pitch but also reunite again as brothers before they lose everything they had once dreamed of.

“Carlos’ directorial debut confirms him as a talented narrator who’s able to hide deep themes within the joy and pain of laughter,” commented producers Alfonso Cuaron, Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu and Guillermo del Toro in a joint statement.

“We’re thrilled to be in business with the talented group of individuals on both sides of the camera on ‘Rudo Y Cursi’ director Carlos Cuaron, producers Alfonso, Guillermo and Alejandro as well as Gael Garcia Bernal and Diego Luna,” added SPC in a joint statement.

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