Sexo y Tortillas is a surprisingly heartfelt dose of women feeling more connected, even in the most rural locations.

Sexo y Tortillas (2018) Review By Mark McPherson

Published on March 30, 2023

Rating 4 /5


Sexo y Tortillas is a short film about finding common ground with female sexuality. It takes place in a Latin American village where a young woman has come for a stay with her older aunt. The aunt, dedicated to cooking great meals, looks down on her youthful acquaintance with her desire for the internet and meditation. Yet the young woman takes it in stride because she’s in town on business. And it’s a business she feels she might want to keep secretive.

As we soon learn, her business involves being a door-to-door salesman for vibrators. She frames her products as being for feminine use to get around the house's men and soon unloads the goods when let in the house. The village's women are amazed and dazzled by the various wares of many colors and settings. The husbands are not thrilled, despite the young woman’s attempts to sell the product as being for his and her pleasure. For a village not used to such devices, it’s a bit of a hard sell, appearing scandalous for some in the community.

A connection is soon made between the girl and her aunt but in a comical way. The aunt slowly comes around to trying out her niece’s mediation methods but keeps it down low. Later, she’ll sneak into the girl’s room and happen upon a vibrator. There are some comical ways she imagines what that device may be for, ranging from rolling dough to singing with it as a microphone. She eventually realizes what she’s holding, and a mild shock comes over her, more for embracing something kept discrete within the bedroom.

Eventually, the aunt and the girl come together when realizing they share a similar interest in sexual devices. Despite how awkward this could be, there’s a comforting nature to how they come a bit more forward. The aunt never goes too far in divulging her stance on masturbation but is open enough to talk about which one she would like for her birthday. This makes the story about as comforting as a home-cooked meal, realizing you’re not alone in finding the pleasures of life. Despite the aunt’s uncompromising approach to maintaining her household, she still roots for her family to succeed, ending the film with an easy-going conversation about how business has been going.

Sexo y Tortillas is a surprisingly heartfelt dose of women feeling more connected, even in the most rural locations. There’s a refreshing nature to the film in depicting the struggles that women still face with being frank about sexuality while still longing for more openness. Masturbation is given a healthy lens focusing on women in this light and loving short.

Written By

Mark McPherson

Written By

Mark McPherson

Mark has been a professional film critic for over five years and a film lover all his life.

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